


Wrong Answer

by jaimistoryteller



Series: Answers Verse [2]
Category: James Bond (Craig movies), James Bond (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-16
Updated: 2017-07-08
Packaged: 2018-08-09 02:21:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 31,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7783075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaimistoryteller/pseuds/jaimistoryteller
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nine years is a long time to be undercover and the longer Alec's mission drags on, the harder it gets. He doesn't expect the teen he is given to actually change the course of his mission, but that's exactly what happens</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Unwelcome Gift

**Author's Note:**

> Creative Bingo: Pragmatic
> 
> I have the first 8 chapters done, so one will be posted every Monday for the next 7 weeks following today.
> 
> Tags may be added to depending on how the story goes.

Alec’s POV  
Nine years a long time to be undercover, he thinks as strides through the Ourumov Mansion, his annoyance kept tightly under wraps so his flame aura wouldn’t flare to life. He keeps requesting extraction, an end to the mission, and he keeps getting denied. He’s so very tired but there is nothing he can actually do about it. At least, not without betraying James, and he longs to see his friend and lover again, so that is something he is trying to avoid at all costs. He’s pragmatic, so he adapts.

He has just reached his room when he notices that the door is slightly ajar, and can hear at least two different voices from the inside.

Slowing, his hand goes to the gun he keeps on his person as he pushes the door the rest of the way open. Inside, he finds Matrona Ourumova, two henchmen, and the most surprising thing: a teenage boy strapped to his bed.

He doesn’t bother asking what they are doing in his room, instead he merely arches one brow at her and waits for her to begin. It’s a really affect tactic he’s used on several occasions since she hates to feel like she is being questioned and answers almost immediately each time.

“Hello Alec,” she nearly purrs, “I brought you a gift,” she motions to the teen.

Ever since he met her, she has been trying to get into his pants, something he has avoided by getting Ourumov to agree it would not be a good idea. So occasionally she does something new, almost as if she is hoping to ‘win him over’ with her actions, when in truth it makes him hate her more. Just like he hates how familiar she is with his name.

“He’s a hacker, and an artificer, if you can get him to use his talents.” She tells him, “He’s been,” she pauses to flick a glare at the teen, “very resistant.”

The tied up teen glares back, flipping her off with a wordless hiss of anger.

One of the henchmen steps forward to strike the teen, and he immediately steps forward, grabbing the henchman’s wrist and squeezing, allowing his fire nature to flare to life, both breaking and searing the henchman’s wrist.

“Since he was given to me, you won’t touch him,” he growls dangerously.

The henchman whimpers pain from the broken wrist and the burns as he releases the idiot.

Miss Ourumov smirks, watching with interest and heat in her eyes. “I could tell you all about what has been done to your new toy, if you’d like,” she offers, moving closer to him until he allows his flame aura to surround him, making her step back from the heat.

Sometimes it’s really useful being an elemental.

“Don’t bother,” he replies, “I was only stopping by my room to grab my coat. My new gift and I are leaving.” His voice is full of disdain as he says it. “Feel free to get out. Now.”

She freezes for a moment before nodding once and leaving with her henchmen, the one cradling his arm to his chest. The second henchman closes the door behind them.

Now it’s time to deal with this unwelcome gift.


	2. Leaving Ourumov’s Mansion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lidiya Raskova belongs to the awesome Zephyrfox, she's letting me borrow her and her two companions Pyotr Bogdan and Dayesi Malinina

Alec’s POV  
Taking a deep breath, he turns to study the teen. His eyes slowly raking over the younger man’s upper body as he walks over to the bed. He can see electrical burn marks and very fine silvery scar lines from where the boy’s creamy skin has been sliced open. As his gaze follows the curve of the teen’s arms, he notices other little marks and scars, each telling him exactly how much pain this boy has been put through. Dark hair is wet and fluffy, as if he was given a forced shower before being brought here. Hazel eyes, the amber gold-green type, glare at him furiously.

Stopping next to the boy’s right wrist, he murmurs, “Don’t try running.” He pitches his voice for comforting as he puts his finger against the lock, eyes narrowing as he sends a burst of wind through the lock, undoing it quickly. “I probably have something you can put on.”

When he is done with the right wrist, he moves along the bed, pausing at each limb to unfasten them before stopping beside the teen’s left wrist.

As soon as it snaps open, the smaller man scrambles away from him, nearly falling off the bed as he backs himself into a corner to glare at him.

Ignoring the teen, he walks to the closet in order to throw it open, eyes scanning the clothes to find something that might come close to fitting the teenager. When he finds some smaller clothes, things from when he first got out of the hospital after the explosion, he pulls them out and tosses them towards the spot the boy is in.

“Here,” he grumbles, “Get dressed, we’re leaving here.”

Amber green eyes study him before the younger man slowly nods, pulling the clothing on without taking his eyes off him. Once the teen is dressed, he moves a bit closer, not actually touching him.

“I don’t have an extra pair of boots, however we can acquire you a set after we are at my house,” he states, still keeping his voice calm. He’s been many things in his life, but someone who harms a kid like this is not one of them. “Don’t try running,” he repeats, “That would be very bad for you.”

Distrust fills those hazel eyes, watching him as the smaller man stands up.

He offers a hand, commenting, “None of them will touch you while you’re touching me. They’d be too afraid too.”

The younger man eyes him nervously, the distrust seeming to multiply as he slowly accepts the hand.

He makes sure to hold his arm steady as they turn towards the door. Quietly they make their way through the mansion. He matches his longer stride to the teen’s slower one, flaring his winds and heat around them every time someone gets too close. When they get to the car, he gets the boy in before taking his spot behind the wheel and taking off.  The ride to his safe house is just as quiet as their trip through the house had been.

When they get to the safe house, he makes sure to surround the boy in his aura again, protecting him from the cold Russian air as they make their way into his house. He should probably call Raskova to come check the teen’s injuries. However not yet, right now he just wants to get the younger man in the house, and maybe get him some better fitting clothes. Actually, yes, he’ll call her to stop and get the boy clothing and then come over to check on him.

“You can look around,” he states as he grabs his phone and calls his personal doctor.

While he speaks with the younger woman, he listens closely to the teen moving around, movements slow. When he gets off the phone, after he has given her a list of instructions, he goes looking for the teen, finding him in the dining room, sitting in a chair looking exhausted.

“You’re the spy,” the boy mutters, studying him, “The one that defected. She doesn’t like you, thinks you’re going to betray her father. I’m supposed to be a test.”

“Not surprising, she’s not happy that I refuse her every time she offers herself up.” He replies, not actually answering the rest of the statement.

“I won’t work for you if you’re like them,” the teen hisses angrily.

How to deal with this teen? He wonders, there has to way to calm the kid down and maybe earn his trust. Anyone who can manage to stand up to that bitch would be an asset to his mission.

“My name is Alec Trevelyan, you’ll be safe here,” he introduces himself and states gently, “I’ve called my doctor to come check you and bring you clothing that fits.”

Turning, he leaves the room, letting the boy roam the house as he wants. That might not be the safest choice, but he is sure that the kid doesn’t have spy training, so the things he wishes to keep private will remain private.

Now he just has to wait for Raskova to get here. Hopefully she will be able to calm his newest charge down. After all, he met her in a very similar fashion.


	3. Meeting Alec

Mason’s POV  
Pain lances through his body, he is cold and hungry, and his entire body aches from everything it has been put through for however long he has been kept in this dark hole. He doesn’t know how long he’s been here or where here even is.

When two men drag him from the cell he is kept in, he’s sure that this is going to be the time he dies. Only instead the forcibly clean him with icy water before dragging him through the mansion they are into a bedroom the bitch opens with a master key.

The contact and light hurts his eyes but he’s happy to be out of the cold, windowless cell.

Terror rushes through him when he is thrown on a bed and chained down. He hisses in anger at the bitch as she walks through the door behind her minions.

He’s going to kill her one of these days, no matter what it takes, because he’s damned determined, so she better kill him first, he thinks.

Instead she merely glares at him, playing with a knife as she does so.

“Daddy says I have to get rid of you, he’s tired of me focusing on you.” She whines, “I thought of cutting you to little pieces to get rid of, but then I came up with the idea of using you to test that spy. I know he’s not really on Daddy’s side and I am going to prove that with you.”

She spends a bit more time ranting about the spy and how he is going to prove the spy is a traitor before a tall man with flashing green eyes, dark blonde hair, and burn marks comes striding in the room with his hand hovering over a gun.

The bitch says something to the new person, and he flips her off on principle. The roaring in his ears makes it hard for him to actually understand, but he would rather die of magic overload then to use his talents for these arseholes who destroyed his home and family. Not surprisingly, one of the pieces of garbage with the bitch comes towards him, from all intent and purposes looking like he’s going to cause harm.

Only something surprising happens, the man with the scars gets between them.

Shaking his head, he forces the roaring away. Wanting to hear what is being said.

When the bitch and her henchmen leave, he watches the scarred man with narrow eyes.

“Don’t try running,” the tall, scarred man states matter of factly, not bothering to follow it with a threat the way all the others have.

Who is this person and why is he so warm? He wonders as the taller man stops next to his right wrist, unfastening the lock with a burst of controlled wind. An elemental, he realizes, or the child of an elemental. Probably fire and air considering the heat coming off and the way he is bending the air to his will.

“I probably have something you can put on.” The elemental continues as he moves from lock to lock, undoing them.

As soon as he hears the last one click, he’s forcing his body into motion, getting as far away as possible. There is something wrong with this situation, well besides the fact he is in it to begin with, and it is making him even more wary than normal. So far the elemental hasn’t harmed him, but that doesn’t mean much. The second group to have him didn’t hurt him for the first while either. Only when he refused to do what they want did they set to using pain to try and force him to their will. Fools.

“Here,” the scarred man states calmly after a bit, “Get dressed, we’re leaving here.” A pile of clothes is tossed in his direction.

This is the first non-human or crossbreed he has come across that wasn’t chained since this entire situation started. Should he try trusting him?  If it gets him out of this hell hole that is exactly what he should do. The only problem is he is so cold, his magic is trying to warm him and failing, that’s probably because he’s been starved and it’s been working overtime trying to keep him from dying. His magic is never supposed to be used like that. So he is paying for it, in the form of a pounding headache and feeling like there is a roar in his ears.

What he needs to do is actually use it. Yeah, still not happening until he knows he can do so without helping the bastards.

Slowly he nods, deciding that he might as well try trusting this elemental. Despite that, his eyes never leave the older man as he gets dressed.

“I don’t have an extra pair of boots, however we can acquire you a set after we are at my house,” the elemental remarks once he has everything that was tossed his way on. He’s not surprised when the older man repeats his earlier warning, and adds to it, “Don’t try running, that would be very bad for you.”

Somehow he gets the impression that the very bad for him is not from the elemental but from the others here. Not really a shock considering.

It’s a struggle getting to his feet, his entire body screaming in protest.

When the elemental offers him a hand, he blinks in shock, eyes darting from the outstretched hand to the older man’s face, trying to understand the motivation. It’s not a threat and it’s not a command, just an offer, it doesn’t make sense in comparison with the rest of his life right now.

Almost as if understanding his hesitation, the elemental explains in a surprisingly gentle voice, “None of them will touch you while you’re touching me.” A smirk curves the older man’s lips as he states, “They’d be too afraid too.”

Should he accept the help? He asks himself, eyeing the scarred man. Yes, if it gets him out of here, he answers himself almost instantly. Though the lights are all annoyingly bright, maybe he can almost close his eyes, he thinks. Slowly he accepts the hand, startled when warmth rushes over him, almost covering him like a body suit. For the first time in he doesn’t know how long, the trembling that comes from being cold starts to lessen.

He’s thankful for the silence between them as they move through the mansion, and even more thankful for the fact the elemental is moving at his pace rather than forcing him to try moving faster. Before all this happened he was faster, but that was before he spent however long he’s been trapped and living off his own magic.

The car they end up in front of fast and sleek, very comfortable and even a bit warm as he is situated in the passenger seat.

Resting his head against the window, he closes his eyes and rests, sure that there is soon to be more hell. Hopefully the elemental will prove him wrong, but he has a hard time believing it.

The house they stop in front of is relatively new, in good repair and in a decent neighborhood, he thinks as he looks around, almost grateful for the help when the elemental offers him an arm again. As much as he hates accepting it, he has to because he knows he is too weak to physically do anything right now. The adrenaline of dealing with the bitch is wearing off and he just wants to sleep.

Inside the house he is surprised when the elemental leaves him to his own devices, and he slowly shuffles his way through the downstairs, checking each of the rooms he can get the door open in before coming to sit in a chair in the dining room, his legs nearly giving out on him as he takes a seat.

It’s been a very long day. He thinks tiredly, all he wants to do is sleep. Sleep would not be safe or a good idea however.

He feels stupid when he finally puts the pieces together, that this must be the spy that the bitch ranted about on more than one occasion. What is his name? He can’t remember and it’s bugging him. Whatever, how to deal with a maybe good person, maybe bad person?

“You’re the spy,” he mutters tiredly, watching the elemental through narrow, tired eyes, “The one who defected.” He nearly sneers the next part, “She doesn’t like you,” his tone goes to matter of fact or as matter of fact as he can pull off so tired, “thinks you’re going to betray her father,” isn’t that a lovely hope to have? “I’m supposed to be a test.”

Green eyes burn with dark mirth as the elemental responds, “Not surprising, she’s not happy I refuse her every time she offers herself up.” There is something in the older man’s voice, he just has to figure out what it is.

“I won’t work for you if you’re like them,” he hisses angrily, so tired and just wanting to rest but knowing he can’t yet.

Understanding flashes in those emerald eyes, nodding slowly, the elemental surprises him again by introducing himself, “My name is Alec Trevelyan,” voice gentle once more. “You’ll be safe here.” It almost sounds like a promise but why would the elemental, Alec, promise him that? “I’ve called my doctor to come check you and bring you clothing.”

Without waiting for him to answer, the older man turns and leaves the room much to his shock. There have been a lot of shocking things about today, almost all of them surrounding the elemental.

Tiredly, he pushes himself to his feet, deciding to see about finding something in the kitchen to eat. Food would be really nice about now, only he doesn’t get that far before his legs give out and he knows nothing else, his world turning dark.


	4. Waking Up

Alec’s POV  
He’s in his living room when he hears the soft thump of a body hitting the floor. Since the only person in the house beside himself is the kid, he quickly returns to the dining room where he finds the boy passed out on the floor next to the kitchen door.

Sighing, he carefully scoops the teen up, carrying him through the house and upstairs to one of the smaller bedrooms. Once in the room he lays the teen down on the bed, tucking him under the blankets and making sure the heat is on in the room, something he often forgets since he provides his own heat.

He's trying to decide whether to leave the room or not when he hears Dayesi’s vehicle pull up. So his doctor must be with her lover then, not surprising, those two are often together when not doing something for him.

They'll let themselves in, he thinks, as he keeps an eye on the teen. How old is this boy? He wonders, hard to tell with the fact the kids been dehydrated and starved, so he probably hasn't grown as much as he should. The boy is good looking, probably the reason his injuries were all done to be scarless. He'll ask when the teen wakes up how old he is.

“Alec?” he hears Lilya call from the front door.

Stepping out of the room, he answers,  “I'm in the spare bedroom next to mine.”

Neither lady says anything, though he feels how their bodies move through the air as they come upstairs, he retreats back into the room, still watching the boy.

A moment later there is a soft knock at the door before the two women slip in.

“I've got clothes, and of better fashion than you normally pick,” Dayesi announces with a playful smirk. The fact he doesn't care about fashion except when he has to being a long standing conversation between them.

“I have my supplies, you didn't specify species, so I wasn't sure what all to bring.” Lilya comments, walking over to the bed in order to perch on the edge and check his sleeping ‘present’.

The next several minutes are spent in silence as the doctor carefully checks the boy with both magic and training. Her focus completely on the unconscious teen as she does so. She hisses in anger, eyes flashing true amber before returning to their normal topaz coloring.

“Can you share your heat with him?” she asks, worry evident in her tone. “His core temperature is too low. Dangerously too low.”

He walks to the other side of the bed, sitting down and reaching a hand out to touch the young man's pulse. Bringing his aura up, he allows it to flow from himself to the teen, wrapping around the smaller body like a protective shell.

Lilya watches the teen like a hawk, muttering under her breath about people who do this sort of thing needing to feel it for themselves. “I don't know how long you'll need to do that.”

He wants to growl in frustration but doesn't because it's not the boy’s fault. He'd planned to get some work done but that is apparently not happening any time soon.

Well then, he's not staying in here if he has to keep this up, scooping the teen up, he carries the younger man to his bedroom. Once there, he softly places the younger man on his larger bed, walking around to the other side to slide up next to him and tug the teen against his side so their arms are brushing.

“Can you tell what all has been done?” he inquires when the two women enter his room, Dayesi just a bit more hesitant than her healer lover.

Lilya nods, answering, “Sadly yes, his body has great memory for it, far too much memory for it.” She bites her lip and he gets the impression that she wants to say something but doesn’t know how to say it so he just stares in her direction until she finally does. “Maybe you should seduce him.”

He blinks, quite sure he hadn’t just heard his doctor correctly. She did not just tell him to seduce a child.

“I know that look, it’s the ‘you didn’t just say that’ look, but I did. He’s at least eighteen, though his body is not in that good of shape, he’s been put through physical hell on several occasions,” she quickly explains, voice quiet. “You have a reputation for the more sensual side, rather than sexual, and he’ll need that if he’s ever going to have a healthy relationship.”

He considers denying that for a long moment before realizing that she’s probably isn’t wrong. There have been several times while he has been in intimate situations because of his cover. During those situations he makes sure to leave his partner with as pleasant of feelings as possible with the shortest and least amount of actual sex.

“It’s something to consider,” she remarks, eyes changing color again as she looks at the teen once more. “His core temperature is going up, though slowly, very slowly. He’s been living off his magic, bet they weren’t expecting that.”

He cocks a questioning eyebrow, “Why wouldn’t they expect it? She told me he’s an artificer.”

“Artificers can only make things, not cast in the more traditional method. Like a witch or wizard can learn and cast spells with the use of items, sorcerers and spellcasters are born with certain abilities that are similar to spells. Both of those types can subvert their magic to heal or maintain their bodies, though not easily, because their magic is active. Artificers have passive magic, it can’t normally be subverted like that.” Dayesi answers him instead of Lilya. Not surprising, he knows she studies the arcane arts even though she is not able to use them herself.

“If he is so cold, how was he so awake when I left Ourumov’s mansion and brought him here?” he asks, wondering if the teen is like Dayesi with water fae in his family tree.

“Adrenaline,” Lilya answers quickly, “As long as it was rushing, he could keep awake and moving. As soon as it started to subside he got tired.”

He nods, understanding that perfectly well, some of the more human double-ohs are like that actually.

“He’ll need food, sleep, and a way to use some of his magic in a creative manner.” Tilting her head, the doctor inquires, “Do you know what sort of artificer he is?” as she perches on the edge of his bed.

“No, just that he is a hacker and artificer,” he answers, absently lifting his hand in order to stroke the smaller man’s.

“Well, figure out what sort of thing he needs if you want him to get and stay healthy. Or pass him off to one of us to take care of, though you’ll probably have the best luck,” she suggests calmly, a playful smile at the edge of her lips.

He nods, glancing down at the teen again and planning. This was not what he was expecting to do today. Actually, he hadn’t planned on anything even remotely like this ever. That’s life as a double-oh who’s undercover.

“I’ll make some food before we leave and put it in the fridge so you can just heat it up,” Lilya states as she stands.

One thing he definitely misses is James’ ability to cook, but that is not something he’s going to think about right now, definitely not, because that would have him missing James. He doesn’t have time to be missing his katane right now. Apparently he has an artificer to take care of.

The two women leave the room, and he feels more than hears where they are at in the house through every single movement in the air.

What is he going to do? He wonders, remembering that the teen said he is supposed to be a test from Matrona about his loyalty. How he doesn’t know, and partly doesn’t care, because he definitely is not going to do anything that harms the kid on purpose. He has a feeling that his ‘gift’ has been harmed enough by people. Of course, that’s life, people harm each other all the time. Otherwise he’d be out of a job.

Hours pass as his mind whirls, flying through every situation that has to deal with his new companion. The only thing he can figure is getting the teen to help him would be seen as being a traitor, while harming the teen or not getting his assistance would prove he is loyal. He wonders just how good of a hacker the teenager is that they are worried about it.

A soft hiss is the first sign that the younger man is waking up as the smaller man burrows deeper into the blankets before freezing in place.

“You’re safe,” he comments quietly, figuring quiet and soft are probably not two things his ‘gift’ has gotten a lot of lately. “What can I call you?”

For a long moment the younger man is silent and still before softly answering, “Mason.”

He smiles, trying not to smirk, “Pleasure to meet you. Lilya has already been by. There is some better fitting clothes for you on top the dresser, and food downstairs.” He waves the hand that hasn’t been stroking the teen’s toward the dresser in question since he actually has two of them.

Amber eyes narrow at him in question, almost in disbelief until the younger man’s eyes follow where he is motioning to.

“Why?” Mason nearly demands, eyes darting between the clothes and him.

Shrugging, he answers, “Well you were given to me, and personally doing anything that would piss Matrona Ourumova off sounds like a good idea. Helping you would definitely anger her.”

The teenager just nods, head jerking once.

“We can discuss your situation after you have eaten, gotten a warm shower, and changed clothing.” He states, slipping from the bed and pulling his aura back within himself.

Several minutes pass as Mason stares at him before the teen slowly nods, “Fine.”

“Excellent,” he replies. “Shower is through there, use whatever you need, whenever you’re ready come downstairs and I’ll heat up some of Lilya’s food, she’s a better cook than I. Or a more varied one maybe. I like spice and heat to my foods normally.”

He doesn’t actually give the teenager a chance to answer him. Instead he leaves the room, leaving the door slightly open so he can easily feel the air movement around the younger man as Mason gets up. He has a feeling it’s going to be a very long day.


	5. Shower and Dinner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *waves* so what do you all think so far?

Mason’s POV  
He’s warm, is the first thing he thinks upon waking up, trying to remember when the last time he was warm was. It was probably before he was taken for his talents which he is not sharing with these assholes. The second thing he notices is the fact he is comfortable. Like very comfortable. Comfortable as being on a real bed without straps or bindings or some other method of keeping him from moving can be. The third thing he realizes is the fact he is sharing that bed with someone who is very warm.

Instantly all the snuggling into the warmth he had been in the process of doing stops, body freezing as he processes whether or not he’s actually safe.

“You’re safe,” the elemental reassures him softly, making him blink when he realizes the reason he’s so warm is they’re sharing the elemental, Alec’s, heat.

He’s in the process of considering what to do when Alec inquires with amusement, “What can I call you?”

Startled, he stays still as he thinks of that question for a long before shaking the feeling of terror through him. He’s feeling better now than he can remember feeling in a very long time, hopefully that’s a sign that this elemental is not like the bitch or the arseholes that came before her.

“Mason,” he mutters, thinking maybe he should have used a different name than his first, but not really caring when he’s currently so warm and comfy.

There is a shit-eating grin on Alec’s face as he replies, “Pleasure to meet you. Lilya has already been by. There is some better fitting clothes for you on top the dresser, and food downstairs.” One long-fingered hand waves towards the dresser closest to the door as if to tell him where the clothing is at.

Emerging from the blankets a bit more, but not pushing the older man away, he tips his head asking, “Why?” He’s more curious than anything at this point. After all, this is definitely not what he expected when was given to the tall man next to him, whenever that was.

There is something in Alec’s tone that makes him think that the elemental is not saying everything he could, even as he dismissively answers, “Well you were given to me, and personally doing anything that would piss Matrona Ourumova off sounds like a good idea. Helping you would definitely anger her.”

Hs head jerks as he bites back the feeling of laughter, knowing that that is probably not the correct response to this situation. Perhaps Alec would be a good ally to have.

The hand lightly touching his, lifts as the older man slides off the side of the bed, commenting,“We can discuss your situation after you have eaten, gotten a warm shower, and changed clothing.”

He blinks at the elemental, “Fine,” he agrees with a nod.

“Excellent,” Alec hums, stretching absently as he heads towards the door. “Shower is through there, use whatever you need, whenever you’re ready come downstairs and I’ll heat up some of Lilya’s food, she’s a better cook than I. Or a more varied one maybe. I like spice and heat to my foods normally.”

The tall elemental doesn’t give him response time, instead, the older man leaves with the door left slightly ajar.

Sitting up on the bed, he takes his time looking around the room, realizing it must be the master suite. Why did Alec bring him to the master suite? He’s assuming from what he saw of the outside there is more than one bedroom. Unless it has to do with the fact the elemental was sharing heat with him? Could that be it? Is the only reason the elemental helping him to piss off the bitch? That’s actually a pretty good reason, and almost a reason for him to help Alec, at the same time he doesn’t want to work for someone anything like her.

Well, he thinks, throwing the blankets off, maybe he can find a computer and actually look into Alec, what did he say his last name was? Oh yes, Alec Trevelyan.

Carefully standing, he wobbles for a bit before walking over to the dresser where the clothing is, picking up each piece and blinking because it’s all really good clothing, not that cheap bulk store type, and from the looks of it, it’s all about his size. Now that’s a bit awkward. Picking them up, he heads into the bathroom, stopping to stare at exactly how big and lavished it is. This bathroom is big than his old bedroom, and probably half the size of the master bedroom he just left.

There is definitely room for three, maybe even four people in the tub. The shower is definitely big enough for two people, with built in seats so it’s possible to sit down in it as well. The toilet is probably the most normal part of the room.

Setting the clothes down on the counter, he turns to the shower to turn it on, then roots through the cupboards and cabinets to find himself a towel. Shaking his head when the one he comes across is huge, just like the rest of this bathroom. He also finds a collection of body washes and hair products that he sorts through until he finds some that he likes the smell of.

When he finally climbs in the shower, he sighs in pleasure, trying to think of the last time he had a chance to soak in hot water. Despite his enjoyment of it, he still makes it a quick shower because he is uncomfortable being naked in the house when there is someone else here, someone whose motives he doesn’t understand at that. He’s quick about the wash up of his body, trying not to linger on any of the marks that now scar his body, no matter how light, or the few that were self-inflicted. The part he enjoys best is getting a chance to scrub his scalp, fingers working through his curls and straightening them out as he unknots them.

After he turns the water off, he quickly dries off and dresses because he notices that the air is a bit chilly, or it feels chilly anyways, even if it is warmer than the air in the holding cells he has been in for however long.

The clothes are all lightweight and warm, covering close to his entire body. There was even a brand new pair of shoes that turn out to be surprisingly comfortable if a bit big for him.

He should go downstairs, he thinks, deal with Alec, maybe see about finding a computer. A computer would be nice. At the same time he doesn’t want to go anywhere near the elemental because he doesn’t understand the motivation going on.

He freezes in place when he hears the bedroom door open the rest of the way, waiting for the inevitable time where the older man enters the bathroom. So he is startled when Alec’s voice comes through the door instead, “Foods done reheating, and I’ve been told not to let you get cold again, so come downstairs before you do so.”

A moment  later the sound of footsteps leaving the room makes him open the door to peek out, stumped that the elemental hadn’t stuck around. He doesn’t like being thrown off.

Noticing the air is a bit warmer now, he makes his way through the house, following his nose because something smells delicious.

“What do you want to drink?” Alec asks from behind him, nearly making him come through his skin.

Jerking around to face the taller man, he realizes it’s not a really big height difference. Actually, it’s more of a muscle and build difference than height difference.

“Sorry, trying to remember to walk loud enough to be heard.” The older man remarks, still watching him expectantly. “Fridge is through there if you want something cold. If you want something hot you can use the coffee pot or percolator to heat it up, or I can flash boil water.”

He stares at the elemental who calmly walks past him into the kitchen and grabs a few containers of food out of the fridge, muttering about there being way more here than is probably needed.

“Something light,” he mumbles, not moving from his spot as he watches the taller man moving about.

“To eat or drink or both?” Alec inquires, pausing to straighten up for a minute, “There’s probably fifteen different food options here. Why she thought so much food is needed, I don’t know.” Eyeing him, the elemental suggests, “Soup, both a lightweight drink and a light weight meal. There’s chicken, beef, and vegetable, which do you want and do you have a preference for how hot it is?”

“Chicken,” he answers slowly, watching as the taller man pulls one of the containers out, and grabs a bowl from the cupboard.

“A lot, a little, somewhere in the middle?” The elemental asks as he grabs a spoon to scoop some out.

He just shrugs, not sure how hungry he really is.

“Somewhere in the middle it is,” the older man comments.

Perching in the chair the closest to the kitchen, he watches as Alec makes up two bowls, one larger than the other before carrying them in the dining area.

“Are you normally this hen-ish?” he inquires without thinking his words through.

“No. I'm allowed to ignore the doctor's orders, others are not,” the elemental responds calmly.

He arches a brow at that, wondering at that comment.

“Besides, I’d rather you relax,” Alec remarks with a shrug, “I’m sure the upcoming conversation will be stressful enough. Though you are welcome to root through the kitchen for whatever you might want to eat. After everything I figured out, we can see about getting clothes you prefer. I know Dayesi tends to like to be sedate but fashionable, and I prefer comfort, so we have very different styles.”

“You don’t make sense,” he blurts out, having a hard time understanding why the elemental is acting this way.

Chuckling, the older man nods, “I’ve been told that once or twice,” with a shrug, the scarred man continues, “It’s best sometimes, you’ve met some of the people I deal with. Having them not able to understand me is a very useful thing.”

With that, the relaxed atmosphere vanishes. That’s right, Alec works with them. That means he is probably like them. Suddenly, he falls quiet, watching the older man as he sets the spoon down and partly pushes the bowl away, his appetite gone.

The elemental finishes his bowl before pushing it aside and eyeing him. “Time for our talk, I believe.”

He doesn’t say anything, only watching the older man with narrow eyes.

“I’ll give you access to a computer, you can look me up, preferably without alerting the general’s hackers to that fact.” The elemental offers, “I’d rather not end up dead or having my cover blown any sooner than the end of this job. Especially since I have a lack of trustworthy backup if things go wrong.”

He continues to stare, rather surprised by the offer. It’s probably not made lightly.

Standing, Alec motions for him to follow before striding off. He spends a few moments just sitting there staring at the food in shock before pushing away from the table. Slowly he follows the warmth in the air until he finds the older man in the room that had a locked door when he was wandering earlier. Stepping into the room, he realizes that it’s an office, a rather nice office but still an office. The thing that draws his attention is the computer set up on the desk. Immediately he wants to take it apart and see what makes it tick, even make it better actually.

“It’s encrypted,” Alec remarks, booting it on and logging in before standing up, “I’ll be in the library.”

He stares after the elemental, not sure what to make of the older man’s actions. They just don’t make sense.


	6. Hacker

Mason’s POV  
It takes him several minutes to get his mind cleared enough to turn his focus to the computer. The first thing he does is dig through the programming, eyes scanning the DOS coding with the sort of ease that he has missed. This is something he is familiar with, comfortable with even. Once he has gone through system to make sure it’s safe, he hasn’t forgot those skills, even if it has been three years since he last used them according to the time stamp on the computer.

Closing his eyes for a minute, he forces the emotions aside, now is not the time for this.

When he opens his eyes up, he focuses in on the codes dancing across the screen.

Hours are spent working on the computer, going through every single bit of information he can discover on Alec Trevelyan, Matorna Ourumova, and every other name he can recall hearing in the last three years. Several of them he sets up to get caught by the governments in the areas they are in, not nearly as much revenge as he wants. Maybe someday he will be able to get better revenge but not anytime soon.

What he does find interesting is the fact Alec Trevelyan is listed as dead and not dead within the paperwork. Different reports filed and uploaded at different times with different signatures. It appears someone is trying to hide the fact Alec is still an agent, by either making it look like he betrayed MI6 or is dead.

When he is done, he makes sure to clear all traces of his being in their systems before he closes everything out and shuts the computer down.

Sitting back, he is mildly surprised to find that he has a hot tea sitting at his elbow, and he gets the impression it’s not the first one. Actually, he blinks, this is probably the third one judging by the fact his mouth isn’t dry.

Why? Truthfully, he has a lot of why’s going through his head right now. Why has Alec been undercover for nine years? Why did the elemental go undercover to begin with? Why does it seem that the older man skirts the laws and moral compass, just barely staying on this side of not evil? Why is Alec still working with that rat-faced bastard and his bitch of a daughter? What is he going to do?

What does he know about Alec? Spy, 006, undercover, Russian-British by birth, he’s a genasi or something similar, air and fire, not that that’s a shock. He’s already seen both sets of skills to prove it. According to the records Alec is mostly partnered with a katane named James. Excellent with explosives, a sniper, good at intelligence work, excels at mathematics, and talented in a fight.

He’s a hacker and can find the information he needs, he thinks, but that information could be a lie, he just doesn’t think it is.

Well then, he chooses to actually speak with Alec, see what the spy has to say. Maybe even work with him. Worst case scenario is he ends up in a situation like he’s already been in, but he is pretty sure that is not going to be the case here. Everything he knows about the elemental tells him he should trust the older man.

Standing up, he stretches before straightening his shoulders and heads towards where he vaguely remembers the library being. That way he can get to this conversation sooner than later. Plus thank the elemental for the tea, it was very tasty.


	7. Planning

Alec’s POV  
“Do you have a plan?” is the first thing that Mason inquires as the teen steps into the library where he trying to wait patiently.

The only time he is patient is when he has a sniper rifle in his hand or working with a bomb, the rest of the time he’s too energetic to be patient. He does have his lazy days where all he wants to do is recline, but this is definitely not one of them. This is too much of a risk to be lazy about.

“Set up Ourumov and the Janus syndicate so I can go home,” he answers honestly, moderately certain that the hacker knows more about him than anyone else in Russia right now. “I keep getting denied my request, but I am tired.”

Nodding, the artificer moves closer to him. “Tell me what you’re plotting,” Mason nearly orders, voice sure as he takes a seat, “I’d like to see them destroyed.”

They spend hours discussing the plan and the information he has. Three times he stops to make them something to drink, and once he stops to make food, keeping a close eye on the teenager. Mason asks several questions, eyes narrowing and each as serious as the last as they go through the plan.

Eventually, the younger man mutters, “I need to get on a computer and maybe make something, my skins itching.”

He blinks, trying to understand what itching skin has to do with making things, right up until he remembers the orders from Lilya to have the teen make something. Ah, it’s a magic overload.

“What do you prefer working on?” he asks after a few minutes.

Mason head dips, a blush covering his skin as if he is not sure how to answer that.

“Come on,” he suggests as he gets to his feet, “I have an idea.”

The dark-haired teenager gives him a funny look before getting to his feet as well, “Okay?” there is something hesitant and a bit worrisome about the younger man’s tone.

Leading Mason through the house to the basement, he opens the door and heads down the steps, exposing his back to the teen as he does so. At this point it’s not much bigger of a difference from telling the teen how to look him up. Besides, right now he could very easily overpower the smaller man with energy alone, just a quick burst of heat, and not the shared sort, would do the trick.

In the basement, he clicks on the light, revealing his work area for when he needs to repair his weapons or make a variety of explosives.

“I’m sure you can find something to work on down here,” he remarks as he motions to the room at large, “Preferably without blowing the house up.”

Mason glances around as he reaches the bottom step, taking in his work room. There is a wide variety of things here, everything from gun parts or pieces to build explosives to pieces of the first computers he fried out. There is also every sort of tool that could be used to work them.

“I’ll be upstairs,” he announces, turning to head back up the steps, “Use whatever you need.”

He’s looking forward to seeing what the younger man makes, just for curiosities sake if nothing else.


	8. Fretting and Remaking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now the answer to the million dollar question: what's Mason making in the basement...

Mason’s POV  
He spends several minutes going through the room and finding all sorts of things that he could use to make any variety of items. What sort of thing does he want to make? He finds pieces of guns, explosives, computers, TVs, switches, all sorts of other gadget pieces. It almost feels like home down here. It’s just warm enough that he’s not cold, not so warm he’ll be sweating as he works, and plenty of fun things for him to do.

Absently, he sets to making himself a taser and keying it so it will only work for him. While he works, his mind goes over the conversation that he just spent however long having with Alec. Does he want to help the spy go home?  Yes. Why? Because it’s the right thing to do and maybe the spy will get him the hell out of this icicle.

When he’s done with the taser, he can still feel the itch beneath his skin letting him know it is not nearly enough. Well then, what else should he work on?

Taking another look around, he notices that there is at least four different computers and the pieces for more of them. Computers are expensive, why is there so many that are broken in here?

Well then, that’s next. He decides, visually taking in all the parts and happy to see they all seem to be from the same brand if not the same model. His focus turns inwards as he collects every piece of computer he can find, clearing himself a work area and deciding there is not enough room so instead he sets up on the floor. Once he has all the pieces, he finds the tools needed to work and takes them all apart, checking each to see which are visibly damaged and which aren’t.

It’s good busy work for him, something he can do to work on calming his frayed magic and nerves, and it allows him to continue thinking about his conversation with Alec.

All of his digging revealed that Alec was deep cover, and that his reports, at least from what he can find are being handled by a Joshua Matthews. Yes there is someone else who is receiving information from Russia from a private source, but only Matthews has consistent and diligent information. Only Matthews has the rank and ability needed to hide a deep cover case. Unfortunately for Matthews, he doesn’t have the skills to avoid detection from a hacker who knows what to look for.

How is he going to play a part in this game of cat and mouse?

Well, he thinks, best put his heritage to work for him. He comes from a long line of artificers, each with a different set of talents along with the ability to use the previous generation’s talents if taught. Fortunately, he has been taught many of those things. If he is lucky he will be able to find the journals his grandmother and great-grandfather complied so he would have access to the information of previous generations. That would require him getting back to England so he could find his family's safety deposit boxes, if they were still there.

Once he has separated the bad pieces from the good ones, he starts going through what pieces he will need and for where before returning to thinking about his situation.

It’s hard to believe it’s been three years since his family was murdered. How did he lose so much time? That’s easy enough: starved, kept in dark cells, abused in every way they thought wouldn’t leave ‘permanent’ damage in hopes that their ‘mercy’ would make him want to cooperate.

Closing his eyes, he takes a deep breath, clearing his mind so he can keep working. Right now is not the time to mourn them. He can do that when he is safe. As much as Alec claims to not be a threat, well, he’s been told that before. Though he has to admit that so far the spy has been surprisingly open with him.

Opening his eyes, he studies the parts that he sees. He can definitely make a new computer with this. Now why did all the other pieces break down? His eyes go over them carefully, and he reaches out to pick each up, carefully sending his senses through it with a carefully woven spell that is designed to see what happened to items.

Heat, and a lot of it, fried each of the devices. There is emotion attached to that heat, mostly rage and depression, but something else as well.

Breaking the connection, he decides what he’s going to do. This computer he’s rebuilding will be heat resistant and secure as he can possibly make it. He plans to use the computer, so he will program it so it is safe as possible. More than that, he will try to make it so only they can access it. Though he will have to key it to Alec, how to do that? Well he has an idea, but he’ll have to get Alec to work with him. That means willingly spending time with the elemental.

Freezing, he stares at his hands as they hover over the pieces. Does he want to be around the elemental? Yes. He feels safe around Alec. Why? He doesn’t know. Yes, Alec has treated him politely so far. Is that a reason to feel safe? Not really, his instincts however tell him that the elemental is a different sort of creature than those who killed his family and stole him away. That’s before including the information from his research. He needs to do more information hunting and discover if there is anything more for him to know.

For now, his eyes roam over his project. Well for now he has a fire and heat resistant computer to build with programming designed to not be hackable by outsiders. 


	9. Touch

Alec’s POV  
Several times between when he shows the teen his work space and when the teen emerges he considers taking the younger man something to drink or eat. However he knows that if Mason is anything like him, he’ll not appreciate having someone interrupt him. He’ll go bother the artificer if the younger man doesn’t emerge in the next twelve hours.

He considers doing the paperwork he had originally planned on writing up and reading today, only he knows that he doesn’t have the focus for it right now. Most of his focus is on Mason even though he is trying to give the teen some space. He really should try to get something done, only his focus is not there. Perhaps he should clean his guns? No, that could be seen as a threat and he is trying to be non-threatening. He doesn't have the ambition to do exercises.

He even considers getting a nice hot bath or massaging shower but dismisses the idea because a nearly naked him could probably be seen as a threat going off what Raskova told him. For the time being he is going to keep as much clothes on as he would wear outside the house just to avoid any issues.

In the long run, he ends up sprawled on his sofa, dancing tiny seeds of fire across his fingertips.

His winds are flowing freely through the house. Checking the windows and entrances, keeping track of his unexpected guest to make sure Mason doesn't collapse again. 

 Absently he dances the fire across his hands as he thinks about his charge. Mason had been extremely tense while holding his arm and moving through the mansion. Not shocking considering how he was given the teen. After the younger man had collapsed and woke up, the teen had been slightly more relaxed while they were just barely touching in the bed.

Raskova hadn’t given him a lot of detail about what happened to Mason, but he didn’t really need any details considering her suggestion. She wouldn’t have suggested he seduce the teen with the intention towards sensual connection. It tells him everything he needs to know, more than he needs to know actually.

Is he actually considering it? He asks himself, sitting up and allowing the seed fire to vanish. Despite what he is guessing is years of abuse and mistreatment, Mason is still good looking. He’s quite sure that once the young man has several solid meals in him and some proper sleep, the artificer will look even better.

Beyond that, he’s always preferred daring, intelligent, sarcastic, and witty type and he’s quite sure that Mason will qualify for that once he is feeling a bit more secure. Just the fact that the teen was willing to flip Matrona off even knowing he would be in danger doing so shows exactly how much attitude the teen has.

Snapping his fingers, a new ball of fire appears above them as he glances over towards the hall that leads to the basement.

Why is he going to take the advice?  Because he doesn’t like the idea of Mason fearing something that can be the best natural connection, exquisitely pleasurable, and a release unlike any other.

He doesn’t have a lot of time however, because if this plan works, they will be leaving Russia within the month, maybe two at that. So he will have to plan quickly, figure out how to get Mason to trust him, and more importantly trust him with his body.

Rolling the fire ball between his hands, he starts going through every trick he knows, having a feeling that it will be needed. Maybe this is one case where he should try using James’ tactics. After all, James is the one who is better at seducing people.


	10. Energy Usage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *waves* I actually had this done last week, but didn't realize I didn't post it until Tuesday evening, so here it is! Hope you all enjoy, feel free to leave comments, questions, favorites and hated parts (politely). Thanks for reading

Mason's POV  
Hours blend and blur together as he builds the new computer with piece of the old ones. Each piece is carefully cleaned and spelled to be heat and fire resistant. The fans are spelled to be able to disburse the air evenly, keeping the computer cool under the highest of heats it can possibly cover. The power supply is spelled to store and save energy, that way even if the electricity is down, it will run and if it is hooked to a phone cable it will be able to get online. The CD disk drives are charmed to always be smooth running, no matter the condition of the disk placed in it. While the floppy and hard disk drives are spelled to copy and store all information in an extra motherboard automatically. The modem is spelled for privacy, to keep other hackers out, only information willingly shared can be seen. The last piece that he charms is the cover, that he carefully works in order to make the entire thing invisible to scying, hiding the fact this computer is magical. Anyone looking at it with magical sight will totally miss all the spell laid into the computer's pieces.

Once the tower is done, he sets to work on the other pieces, making sure all of the parts will be able to be run without having to worry about heat or fire. The last part of the spelling is to make it so only he or Alec can use it. Of course that means he has to go get the elemental for that purpose. He'll do that here in a little bit. First he wants to do a little more research now that he is working on a safe computer

Actually, he thinks as he straightens up. First thing should be a nap. Now that he has poured almost all of his magic into this computer he's exhausted.

Standing, he stretches and takes a better look at the room without the itch to create beneath his skin. When he spots a small futon in the corner, he's delighted, heading over to it in order to lay down. Almost as soon as his head touches the pillow he's out, sleeping deeply only to wake up what feels like minutes later unable to breath. It feels like he is in that cell again.

"Mason?" Alec's warm voice cuts through the panic, heat washes over him, and the rest of the fear melts away.

"Sorry," he mutters, embarrassed by his behavior.

"It's alright," the elemental responds, "It'll take a while before your body trusts itself to sleep."

He eyes the taller man speculatively. That sounds like it is something said from experience.

Stretching, he sits up and waves a hand towards the new, or rebuilt considering how he wants to look at it, computer, he comments, "Take that upstairs to hook up. It's far better than your other one."

The elemental nods in agreement or understanding, he's not sure which, asking, "How hard will it be to transfer things from one to the other?"

"I can probably move all the files in under an hour," he answers after thinking about what he saw earlier.

"Okay, we'll do that in the morning," Alec agrees "It's the middle of the night, why don't you come sleep in the spare room?"

He hesitates before nodding in agreement, standing up with one last glance around the room before he heads to the stair case. When he reaches them he's not sure if he should wait for his host or not. He's still not sure what his position here is. Is he a guest? Slave? Something in between? Friends? Allies?

Turning to the older man, he asks absently, without thinking through the consequences, "What are we?"

Surprisingly enough, Alec's smile is almost gentle as he closes the distance between them, answering, "Allies, and perhaps friends in time. That's my hope anyways."

It's like a weight is lifted off his shoulders.

"Come on, you still look exhausted, let's go get some rest." The elemental suggests.

"Okay," he replies, heading up stairs, and then up the second set of stairs to the area where the bedrooms are just to stop dead in his tracks because the only room he remembers is Alec's. Should he open doors to see which room is usable?

"The one next to mine is all made up, and the heats been on since earlier, Raskova made sure to tell me to keep you warm." There is amusement in the older man's voice as he says that.

He blushes, though he's not sure why he is blushing. It might have something to do with the fact he had woken up next to the elemental earlier and felt surprisingly comfortable. Not since his family's death has he felt that comfortable with another person.

"Thank you," he mumbles, bolting to the room, able to feel the elemental's eyes on him every step of the way.

Great, he thinks, he's going to think you're a fickle kid at this rate.

That's not a bad thing, a voice that reminds him of his mother states.

Shaking his head, he tries to ignore that train of thought. Instead he takes a look around the room. It's very similar to the master bedroom, he thinks, though on a smaller scale. Walking over to the bed, he lays down without bothering to turn out the lights. Right now he wants every difference he can possibly have from the cells and rooms he has spent the last three years in. Having the light on is a big one.

Snuggling under the blankets, he sighs in contentment, drifting off to sleep perfectly warm and surrounded by a somewhat familiar scent.


	11. Nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween to my lurking readers and the lovely people who comment! Stay safe.

Mason's POV  
He wakes with a start, externally warm, but internally cold to his bones. 

Struggling to his feet, he leaves the room and heads to the one next door. He stands there, shifting from foot to foot, raising his hand multiple times to knock only to pull it back because he doesn't want to bother Alec. This is foolish. He should just go back to bed. 

He just about has himself convinced he should go back to the other room when the older man opens the door, peering at him curiously. 

Blinking rapidly, it takes him longer than it really should to process that the elemental is wearing pajamas and socks. 

"What's wrong?" Alec asks quietly, voice rough like he was almost asleep. 

"I'm sorry," he blurts out, blushing because he has been a bother. 

Curiously, the elemental queries, "Why?"

"I bothered you," he whispers. 

"That's fine," the older man declares, "I expect you're not going to sleep the best for a few weeks, there is nothing wrong with that."

He blinks, startled by that answer. 

Hesitantly, because he really isn't sure it's a very good idea, he asks, "Can I, would you mind," he finds he has a hard time putting it into words what he's trying to say. 

"Come on," Alec answers the unfinished question, "I'm not actually sleeping right now, so you're not bothering me."

Blushing, he ducks his head, only slightly surprised that the elemental seems to know what he's thinking. 

"First time I got interrogated by someone other than my trainers, I spent a lot of time with James after the rescue team showed up. I didn't like night time," the older man tells him. "I also avoided water for nearly two weeks, before James decided that smelling like soot wasn't working for him, so I got a forced bath, but he made up for it being water."

He stares at the elemental, eyes wide as he realizes how James made up for it. The implication was easy enough to understand, particularly with the expression on Alec's face right now.

Turning away from him, the taller man heads into the room, sprawling on the left side of the bed. A small orb of fire appears over his hand, and the way the elemental rolls it across his hand has him biting back a chuckle as it reminds him of Jareth with a crystal. 

It's been years since he thought of that movie, his mum used to love watching it, snickering about how inaccurate all of it was in comparison to real fae creatures. 

Slowly he closes the door and crosses the room to hesitantly lay on the other side of the bed. When he makes no move to crawl under the blanket, the older man huffs in frustration, reaching over to tug them out from under him and cover him up. 

"Get comfortable, I'll turn the light out so you can sleep." Alec suggests firmly, pausing thoughtfully only to ask, "Unless you'd prefer the light left on?"

"It doesn't matter, both are hard to sleep in." He answers truthfully. 

The lights click off, a moment later the taller man tells him, "If anyone comes in here they won't touch you, I'll light them on fire long before they reach the bed, and let me tell you, that's a very effective way of keeping people at bay."

He can't stop the low chuckle the rumbles through him. It's surprising that hearing such a deadly threat is comforting, but it is. Moments later he falls asleep to the light glow of the ball of fire dancing across the elementals hands. 

The next time he wakes, it's to warm fingers lightly carding through his hair and a quiet voice murmuring comfortingly. He sits up, breathing heavily, staring ahead and not able to actually see anything. For a moment he's terrified until a small ball of flame appears above the bed just sort of hovering there. 

"You should talk about it," Alec tells him, "Talking about it takes the nightmare's power away."

His body trembles as he thinks about the terror that had rushed through him. The memory of being chained down on a stone floor and used by the people who killed his family because he refused to do what they wanted. He doesn't even realize at first he's sobbing until a pair of firm and very warm arms tug him close, hands rubbing soothing circles on his back. 

"I want them dead," he sobs, pressing his face into the crook of Alec's shoulder. 

"Then we'll kill them," the elemental agrees fiercely. "James and I are very good at killing people."

He just sobs harder, remembering that he has no one in the world. He's the last one of his family. Where is he going to go? What's going to happen to him after they leave Russia? It doesn't matter. First they have to leave Russia, so he needs to get a hold of himself. 

"Sleep Mason, you'll feel better for it." Alec suggests, "If you can't sleep, talk." 

Slowly calming down, he presses close to the warm body, cold to his bones and wishing he wasn't. Heat envelops him, and before he knows it, his eyes feel heavy. His last conscious thought is: why does he trust Alec so much when they only just met? 

 

 


	12. Morning Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look, an update, I've also got part of the next chapter done, along with a very rough chapter of Seeking, and a two chapter short story in the Paths Taken verse. Enjoy!

Mason's POV  
When he wakes up in the morning, he's comfortable, but more than that, he's warm. It's such an unusual occurrence he freezes in place for a moment while his mind catches back up.

Glancing upwards slowly through his lashes, he finds that his pillow, which also happens to be his host, is currently dancing fire along the fingers of his other hand.

“Now that you’re waking up, feel like moving so I can go see what sort of foods Lilya left in my fridge?” a soft voice queries in Russian accented English.

He blushes, quickly scooting backwards and nearly falling off the bed, only one long-fingered hand catches his arm and tugs him back on the bed.

“No concussions from falling off the bed.” Alec remarks before letting go and sitting up.

His eyes follow the way the older man moves about the room, seeming completely comfortable in a way that he’s not used to seeing people. The entire time the fire dances along the elementals hand, twirling and twisting.

“I’ll move the computer here in a bit so you can exchange the information and then use it as you want.” His host tells him, glancing over at him with a warm smile that edges on being a smirk.

“Uh, ah, thank you,” he replies, eyes widening when the elemental’s gaze meets his.

Are Alec’s eyes blue, green, or both? Is there an orange tint or is he seeing things that aren’t there? Does the coloring change based on what element the older man is using? Are the colors reflective of the the elemental nature?

“I’ve got a heavy robe on the back of the bedroom door,” the elemental tells him as he pulls the door open, “Use it if you think you’ll be cold.”

He nods once in understanding before the bigger man is gone. His limbs are a bit unsteady as he gets out of bed. Now that his host is gone, his body is starting to cool off and he misses the warmth. He hesitates only a moment before grabbing the robe, pulling it on and nearly sighing in pleasure when he discovers it immediately holds the warmth in.

Oh, this is nice, he thinks, I like being warm like this. I could get used to being warm like this.

Carefully, making sure not to trip over the long robe, he makes his way to the kitchen, standing just inside the door as he watches the elemental moving around. The small balls of fire are gone, however that doesn’t seem to be a big deal as he watches something on the stove stirring itself and dishes slowly floating out of the cupboard towards the bar.

“That’s amazing,” he murmurs as he continues to watch the movements.

“Meh, it’s good practice for control. I used to buy the cheapest dishes possible so I wouldn’t really lose out when I practiced. Of course, I practiced other things too.” Alec comments with a shrug, “I have very fine control over both my elements. It’s handy, not many develop their control to the level I have.”

“You get underestimated because of it.” He remarks, thinking it through like a math equation, which happens to be how he understands computer coding so well.

“Usually.” A dark smile flashes across the older man’s face for a breath before it’s gone. “Idiots think that they know what I can do because of my heat aura and minor wind tricks.”

He snickers, understanding exactly what isn’t being said. It’s the same sort of logic he prefers.

“I’m heating up one of the soups she left. It’ll be ready shortly, why don’t you get comfortable?” the elemental suggests, hand lightly touching the pot it’s in.

He settles on one of the stools by the bar that divides dining room from kitchen and watches the way the elemental moves around.

What it like to be that sure of myself? He wonders, the spy acts like nothing fazes him. He can't remember if he was like that before. He's quite sure he's not like that not like that now.

“What do you want to drink?” Alec queries, body turning slightly to smile at his wide eyed expression.

“I’d love a good cup of tea. I can’t remember when I last had one.” He replies absently, pushing away the memories of his mum making them tea in the morning, and coffee for his dad.

“I might have tea,” the spy mutters in response, “I don’t drink tea, but the ladies do.”

Ladies? He repeats, then remembers the doctor from the previous day. Oh. Must be her and the one she was with. He has only the vaguest recollection of them. Most of it was lost in the cold and pain.

“Gotcha,” the elemental crows as a small box comes out of the top cupboard above the older man’s head. “One mildly hot tea coming right up.”

He laughs softly, surprising himself because he doesn’t remember when he last laughed.

This is nice, he thinks, maybe he can convince the spy to keep him around after they leave Russia? The only problem with that thought is what about Alec’s partner? He’s got a feeling they aren’t just work partners from the way the elementals voice gets just a touch of softness, warmth even, when he says James. What if the partner doesn’t like him and wants Alec to just drop him somewhere? He shivers, because the thought of being totally alone is terrifying.

A moment later, he’s blinking as warmth surrounds him, seeping into his body and drawing him from his mind.

“Here, eat, it’ll help with the screwed up core body temperature problems you’re having right now,” Alec tells him gruffly. Slowly filling the bowl in front of him with steaming hot soup that smells delicious though he doesn’t know what sort it is and at this moment he doesn’t really care.

“Thank you,” he mumbles, grabbing the spoon and dunking it in. Soup for breakfast, he thinks with a snicker.

His companion just nods, walking over to the stove to put the pot back, and returning to the bar with two steaming cups, one of which is set in front of him.

This is very domestic, he thinks, nice. It’d be nice if this was a bit longer lasting. A flash of worry fills him as he wonders if he’s trauma bonding with the elemental, before he dismisses that fear. He’s eighty-nine percent sure that’s not it. Although, that eleven percent could be terrifying. Still, it’d be best to be careful and maybe he should guard his emotions and heart, who knows what sort of situation he’ll find himself in when they leave. Actually, he should probably start trying to figure out what he needs to do in order to get them out of this hell hole, even if this house is rather nice, he doesn’t want to be in this country any longer than he has to be.


	13. Setting Up the Exit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Years folks!

Mason’s POV  
It's not long after breakfast when Alec moves the computer from downstairs to upstairs so he can hook it up and move the files. Almost as soon as it's set up, he gives it a try, a more thorough try then the one he did in the basement to make sure everything works right. He even uses the other computer to test the protection grinning maniacally at the screen when he has success. 

As soon as he feels it is safe, he sets to hacking MI6 and carefully goes through every single person's records.  Several of them make his skin crawl, though he couldn't give a real reason. Just that they do. 

When he gets to James, he moves a bit slower, taking his time going through the file. It's a massive file. Compiled over the last eighty years. Most of the old files that were scanned in and digitized go back to 1911 when Bond first joined, although his early records said nothing about his partially vampiric nature. That wasn't discovered until nearly the end of WWI. The information was kept private and sealed, the only people with the rank to see it was the chief surgeon, the director, and the King.  Over the years that changes, there are new directors, new chief surgeons, new monarchs. Eventually the prime minister is added to the people who know, as is the quartermaster.  

There's a collection of pictures included in the file, known ‘forms’ dating back to the first one. Now that's interesting, he thinks as his fingers touch the screen lightly. There are base similarities and nearly all of them, yet he can see the differences too. There are eight different forms so far. He's sure that they don't actually know all of James forms. No intelligent supernatural creature reveals all their secrets. 

As he looks over the different James forms, he realizes that heat is curling in his belly, reminding him that he can find someone physically attractive, even if he hasn't since the loss of his family. But then, why would he find people who want to use him in every way possible attractive? 

Sitting back, he blushes as he considers the fact he thinks Alec's attractive too. He's probably not the type the elemental would sleep with. Maybe he should take care of, ummmm, _business_ , in the shower? He wonders as he stares blankly at the screen.

First finish his research, then take a shower and take care of business.  He decides, shoving the warmth and lust way. He can think about those later. Particularly since he knows that James and Alec are lovers when they are together. Wait, that's some very tasty imagery to consider- he cuts himself short before finishing that thought.

Focusing on the computer once more, he continues his research. Many of the Double-O's, are actually non-human. Several even share the same number, with letters attached to differentiate between them. Probably as a way to keep humans from realizing how many there actually are. Most of the Q Branch appears to be non-human in some form or even semi human instead of pure human. It appears that the numbers are actually used according to type. Vampires and katane are all 007. James, as the original 007, is the only one without a letter attached to it. Alec is not the original 006, however he does not have a letter as he is the longest-standing one currently in service. The current Q, or quartermaster, is an artificer with draconian blood. 

If nothing else, he thinks, he could apply for a job among them.

Now who to contact and how? Or maybe what tick to play and how? Breaking it into smaller pieces, he runs the codes in order to come up with a plan that works with his agreed plan with Alec. 

James, he decides, he'll make sure that the katane has a reason to come to Russia. Maybe reveal part of the rat-faced bastard and his bitch of a daughter’s plans. That should definitely do the trick. The next several minutes are spent custom tailoring the situation so that it has to be Alec's partner sent. He's looking forward to them killing them all. 

Once he has the mission and plan all laid out, he makes sure to set up flags for himself. That way, he will be able to track the mission as it is performed. Hopefully, because of how he set it up, Alec will be able to go home and take him with. He's not from Britain, but he thinks he might be able to make a place there. Maybe he can get a job doing what he's best at. If that also happens to keep him close to the objects of his attraction, well, he is still a teenager. He's allowed to to be attracted to someone. His parents would be happy for him if only because he won't be alone, hopefully.

Standing and stretching, he glances around, realizing that he's lost hours working on the computer and that once again the elemental has made sure he has something warm to drink throughout the entire process. 

Smiling, he finishes the mug, before taking it to the kitchen and putting it in the sink. Now then, where's Alec currently at? He wonders as he wanders about, nearly coming out of his skin when the taller man seems to just appear behind him. Logically, he knows that means his host was in the basement, but it still makes his heart beat double time for a moment. 

“Are you hungry?” the elemental asks curiously. 

He nods slowly, still remembering those thoughts about Alec and James together, and trying not to be aroused. He doesn't know how strong a sense of smell his host has, and doesn't want to embarrassing himself. 

“I'll heat up some food and you can tell me how well the plan worked,” the taller man suggests, not actually waiting for him agree before going back in the kitchen, giving him a chance to stare at that rather delectable ass as Alec walks away. 

He's so very screwed, but boy it'll be fun to imagine if it was real. 


	14. Awkward Fantasies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *waves* so today I am posting the remaining of Wrong Answer as it is supposed to be posted before Monday. I hope everyone enjoys and look forward to any comments folks would like to leave me

Mason's POV

Explaining everything goes rather smoothly, the only problem is he keeps getting distracted by the person he's explaining them to and the fact he's starting to get frisky. Why is all he wants to know. Seriously, he doesn't need to feel like that right now. It's awkward and frustrating and confusing. It's been way too long since the last time he did feel like this.

Alec gives him a questioning look when he stammers James’ name while they discuss the  exit plan.

As soon as possible, he bolts, muttering something about needing a shower and not even clear to himself.  

In the guest bathroom, he stares at himself in the mirror, groaning in frustration when he realizes he didn't bring any clean clothes. Shit. Sighing, he opens the door with the plan to find something clean to wear, just to notice the pile of clothing next to the door on the dresser. Blushing but relieved, he select an outfit and slips back in the bathroom.

Setting the clothes down, he gets the shower going and lets it warm up while he is taking off the clothes he's wearing. Forcing himself to look in the mirror, he swallows hard as his eyes slowly go over the different thin lines and barely there scars.

There's no reason that Alec would want him, he thinks, except...maybe it wouldn't matter. The spy knows what sort of situation he was in. He's sure the elemental understood what the bitch said in reference to him.

Shaking his head, he climbs in the shower and closes the curtain, enjoying the way warm water runs over his skin. He spends a few moments just relaxing before he closes his eyes and lets the fantasy wash through him.

He's not sure which one he finds more attractive. He thinks as he builds the image of James and Alec together. Both are taller than him. Both muscular, although James seems to be a bit sleeker in the pictures, while Alec seems to be more solid.

One of his hands slips down his chest, skimming over his skin as he moves further downwards.

Since Alec's the one he's met, the elemental's the one focused on. Dark blonde hair with hints of orange, red, and brown depending on the lighting. An easy smile that has just the hints of a smirk behind it. Green eyes with blue and amber flecks, dancing with an inner fire.

He hisses in shock or pleasure, he's not sure which, as his hand curls around his cock. Bracing himself against the wall, he gives one hesitant stroke before falling back into the fantasy.

There's light scarring, likely chemical burns down the elemental's face, he'd bet they go even further. The question is: how much further? He'd enjoy tracing them either his fingers or lips, getting a chance to taste that tawny gold skin, seeing if it's salty or not.

He'll never ask, but he can imagine.

Would he like to do more than just take the shirt off? He doesn't know. Maybe, at least in his mind he can. There's no one to judge him in his mind. He's curious if all of Alec is that same tawny gold. He wants to know what it's like to touch some with so much power and control. Is the elementals skin warmer than a humans? Will it change how the spy tastes? He'd love to find out.

Alec's fingers are roughly the same length as his, only thicker. It's not that hard to imagine it's the elemental touching him.

He slowly sets a pace, building up as he gets more comfortable in his skin for the first time in years. As the pleasure builds, he focuses on how he thinks Alec would touch him if he was to ever ask. Not that he is planning on doing so.

He pushes away from the wall, not thinking about why he had braced himself to begin with, and when his knees wobble, he nearly crashes face first into it. He barely catches himself, immediately jerking his mind out of the fantasy as he snarls in frustration.

His eyes snap open and he glares at his feet before getting the idea to turn around and lean his back against the wall. That should do the trick. So he shuffles around, relieved that the water is still hot and resituating himself in the steamy air before going back to the fantasy.

Closing his eyes again, because that makes it easier to believe, his hands start at his shoulders. Slowly running over his skin and stubbornly refusing to acknowledge the scars that used to not be there from the days he pushed the bitch a bit too far. Instead he focuses on how it would feel if Alec’s hands really were on him, learning what he’s like as they circle lower.

He bites back a moan when he reaches his cock again. Biting his lower lip, he quickly falls back into the pace he was in before nearly crashing into the wall, only this time he doesn’t get cut short and finds himself pushed over the edge.

He can’t stop the softly gasp, “Alec,” as he comes.

Almost immediately he realizes what he did and his eyes snap open, hopping the elemental didn’t hear him.

oOoOoOo

Alec’s POV

The first noise from his bathroom has him on his feet and moving down the hall before he can even think about it. He’s happy he stops himself from going through when he realizes that Mason is simply _reacquainting_ himself with his own body.

Snickering, he walks back to his study, unexplainably relieved at that knowledge.

To give the younger man privacy, he focuses on some paperwork, ignoring the small noises and needy sounds. That is, until the needy sound is his name gasped out in pleasure. Then his attention is immediately drawn to the young man whether he wants it to or not.

Dancing a fireball above his fingers, he wonders if maybe he should see if Mason would be interested in something physical. It’s worth considering if nothing else.


	15. From Russia

James’ POV

He’s in the firing range when Tanner comes to fetch him because M wishes to have a word with him. As he reloads and puts his gun back in his holster, he has to admit to being intrigued as it is rare for her to send Tanner. Normally she sends the secretary.

What’s the current one? Moneypenny? He’s pretty sure that she’s the niece or granddaughter of the last Moneypenny, or maybe the one before that. He’s flirted with several different Moneypennys over the years that have worked for the various Ms.

Although, he grins mischievously as he follows Tanner to the lift, normally she prefers to avoid him when he isn’t needed for something.

“She’s waiting for you,” Miss Moneypenny remarks as he walks by.

He doesn’t even acknowledge he heard her, he has other things on his mind.

Slipping in the door, he shuts it behind himself in Tanner’s face, though that wasn’t completely intentional. He actually likes Tanner.

“Ma’am?” He queries as he stops in front of M’s desk.

She finishes the document she was writing before setting the pen down and meeting his gaze head on.

Every single M has needed to be able to resist the vampire's gaze before they are promoted to that position. He was actually surprised when she got the spot earlier this year. She is the first female M he has reported to.

“Who do you know in Russia?” she asks, voice firm and expecting an immediate answer.

He goes still, every aspect of his body stops moving as he repeats the question in his mind. _Alec._

“Well?” she demands, forcing him out of his mind.

“My partner,” he answers slowly, trying to find the right words. The previous M knew his relationship with Alec was more than just friendship but he doesn’t know this woman well enough to trust her with that. “The previous M sent him into deep cover, or so he thought, but he was never allowed to come home. When he was going to come home anyways after six years, he was shot. I thought he died. Otherwise I would have brought him home myself.”

Her fingers drum on the desk as she studies him.

“There is no record of a mission in Russia in our files. Not from the region the message was from.” She informs him, “I had that checked before I called for you.”

His eyes narrow and he lets the illusion he normally covers his body with slip away as he waits for her to continue. His lips curve in a smirk as she sharply inhales. Apparently having forgotten that for all he looks like a playboy, he really is far more dangerous.

“Whoever it is effectively hacked our system and we have been unable to back hack them.” She states as her eyes skim over the differences in his face.

Probably trying to commit it to memory, not that it will do much good  when he changes himself every twenty years or so and each time picks a new form, though there have been a few times he has ‘died’ and he has picked new forms early. It’s made the humans who work within the service think that it’s one name for many people, when in truth it has always just been him.

She takes a deep breath and concludes with, “Q has informed me that whoever it is would make an excellent asset.”

He nods once sharply, inky black hair falling in front of his cold gray eyes. Alec, he repeats in his head, his friend and love is alive. Perhaps there is an email waiting for him on their private server. It’s been years since there has been anything on it, another reason he thought that Alec hadn’t survived that gunshot.

They have a brief staring contest before she waves him away, returning to her paperwork, without saying what she wanted him to do.

His features blur back into his current form as he turns on his heel and leaves the office. He’s pleased that she didn’t have orders for him, he wishes to head home, not the MI6 provided flat, but his actual house, the one he has under the name he used before joining the secret service. There he has a computer, a newer model than the one that he had the last time he checked his email. The private server that they shared from the time before the more common form of email people now use.

What he finds waiting for him is nothing short of amazing. Alec isn’t dead, he didn’t die when shot! His long time friend and lover is still alive! Alive! There is a message there alright. Just not from Alec. It doesn’t matter however, as it is on his private server and there is only one person who knows about that besides himself.

Carefully he reads the message, wondering who this Mason person is using their private server to message him, and deciding it doesn’t matter because Alec is coming home. There is something familiar about the wording, and it’s not until his third read through that he realizes it’s Balkan Romani. Which just makes it seem more familiar though he cannot figure out why.

> James
> 
> My name is Mason. I have recently entered the company of the Flaming Air Elemental Alec Trevelyan. He has assured me that you two are well equipped to deal with the situation that brought me to his company.
> 
> It requires a lovely death toll.
> 
> I have made all of the arrangements needed for you to reunite with Alec. All I ask is the two of you kill the bitch. Although I am quite sure that was on his to-do list without my request as he does not like her either.
> 
> I have attached all of the information he wished to share with Six as he does not trust his handler with that information. I have also attached all of the documentation needed for your travels, however I will assume you will want it confirmed with Q. I have forward those documents to him as well.

Mason

> By the by – this is a completely secure system, I upgraded it.

He sits back and laughs. Rereading it for a fourth time to make sure he is translating it correctly. He prints off the attachments, reading them afterwards and his eyes going wide as he realizes exactly what is in them. Perhaps the reason the previous M didn’t call Alec home was the previous M wasn’t the one who sent Alec there in the first place. If what he is seeing in these files is correct, then there is a traitor in Six. His eyes narrow as he hisses in anger, fangs dropping into the biting position. He’ll find out who the traitor is before he leaves to get Alec and this Mason person. Both of them can come home.

Several minutes are spent considering what to say in response.

> Mason,
> 
> I will pass the information along and can definitely assist with the culling of people. How many people will be coming back with Alec and I?
> 
> James

He doesn’t know how long it will be before he’s answered, so he rises from his seat, turning everything off and heading back to the office. He will read about the travel arrangements while M and Q go over the intelligence that Alec has provided through Mason. He’ll also think about the information on what’s going on, the GoldenEye Project headed up by Ourumov.

He’s curious as to why that idiot is still alive, but Alec probably left him as such because he is a known enemy rather than an unknown one. He’s sure by the time they leave Russia, Ourumov will be quite dead. One of them will kill that living piece of trash.

The trip between his house and Vauxhall Cross SIS Building goes rather quickly. Not overly surprising since he was using his enhanced senses to drive, giving him the sort of edge race car drivers only wish they had.

When he gets there, he heads directly to M’s office even though it is early morning and she should probably be at home sleeping. Of course, he knows her type: she won’t leave until she has answers.

He snickers at her less than thrilled expression upon seeing him.

“What do you want Bond?” She demands almost tiredly.

“I have an answer for you about who hacked the system and why,” he replies with an easy smile, setting the folder down on her desk in front of her.

She glances between it and him before asking, “Do you trust this information?”

“More than I trust anybody in this building I do,” he answers with a shrug.

Humming in response, she opens it up and he takes that as a clear dismissal. Perfect. Time for him to go hunting. He’ll check back in with her when he’s done.


	16. Prey & Orders

James’ POV

One of his less used talents is telepathy. He doesn’t like being in other people's’ brains. They are loud, annoying, obnoxious creatures that he mostly wants to kill on good days, being in their heads makes it so much worse. However that doesn’t matter right now because it’s hunting time and he knows the perfect way to start this hunt.

Heading towards Q Branch, he quickly scans over the people, spotting the major and making a beeline for the older human.

He can still remember when Major Boothroyd was a young man and had first taken over as Q. The major had taken one look at him and frowned. A moment later the young human had asked him into the office and announced as soon as the door was shut that he wasn’t human. They’ve been something like friends ever since.

“James, my boy, I assume you are here for your documentation?” Q asks amusement and something else lacing the artificer’s voice.

“Yes,” he agrees, even though that definite is not why he is there, “I’m fetching Alec home after ten long years in that ice-cap.”

He’s aware of every single tech paying attention to what he is saying, and is counting on their ability to not shut up to flush out his prey. Come to my trap, he thinks, eyes narrowing slightly before he forces his face back to the pleasant border lining on arrogant expression most are used to.

“I’m happy he’s finally coming back, it’s almost too quiet with just you around. None of the younger agents have flare for explosives the way you do together.” Q comments sincerely. “I’m sure he will be pleased to come home as well. Do you know if he was the hacker who broke the system?”

He smirks, “No, that’s another, someone I plan to bring back as well if nothing goes wrong.”

“Excellent!” The mostly-human quartermaster announces, “I’ve been looking for a replacement, if that hacker is even a quarter as good as I think they are, then they will make a good replacement after a few years as my assistant.”

“What about R?” he queries curiously.

“R doesn’t want to be in charge of this mess, I prefer barking orders without having to be the one to make the orders,” she answers as the curvy woman comes sashing over. “I’ve never actually met this Alec that you two are referring to. I was hired in after he left.”

“He’s elementally inclined and doesn’t hide it, actually he flashes it with an ease I know many wish they had.” Q replies fondly. “If I ever needed something tested for exploding power, he was the best person for it as he is immune to flames. Haven’t met anyone else with his level of elemental power. At least no one that’s worked in the building.”

He takes the folder that she offers, knowing it’s his documents to get him there, and possibly back. Though that might not come through until he knows how many people are returning with him.

Opening his mental shields, he is surprised by the burst of panic that he feels rushing towards him even as the person gets further away. It’s just so strong it nearly overwhelms him, reminding him why he doesn’t like using this particular gift. That and it takes far more energy than he likes sparing. He prefers putting his energy

Eyes narrowing once more, he hands the folder back to R, stating, “I need to take care of something, please hold these for me.”

Not that he gives her a choice, as soon as her fingers close around the folder he is gone, following the source of that panic. He stalks through the people, ignoring the way most dart out of his way as he finds exactly who made the mistake of trying to use and kill his love.

“I should have known,” he murmurs when he comes across one of the rare human Double-O agent. This man isn’t fully human, but he is human enough that the other doesn’t count as far as he cares.

“Why are you running away Tommy?” he taunts the idiot.

The agent stiffens up before forcing himself to relax as the fool turns towards him with a cocky expression, “I have somewhere to be Bond. Don’t you?”

He smirks, letting just a hint of his fangs show at the edge of his lips, “I’m sure I’m right where I need to be.”

To Tomas Williams’ credit, the idiot neither flinches nor steps back. Instead his fellow agent tries to look bored even as his mind starts racing a thousand kilometers a minute.

He doesn’t need to be in this idiot’s head for what’s to follow, he decides, replacing his barriers. “Run.” He suggests, when Tommy doesn’t move, his smirk twists into a cruel smile, “Or not. Doesn’t matter to me.”

Apparently the idiot isn’t completely without self preservation because Tommy pulls his gun and fires, completely missing him as he side steps the bullet and jolts forward. He lashes out with his left foot, twisting at the last moment to hook behind the fool’s knee and jerk violently forward. At the same time his left hand comes up to catch the idiot by the throat while his right lands a nasty punch to the sternum.

He delights in the crunch of bone and the way Tommy gasps for air as he lifts the other man into the air.

“You really shouldn’t have used my partner as a tool, I don’t take it well,” he states menacingly, voice so quiet he’s sure that Tommy is straining to hear him. “But I’ll let you make it up to me,” he continues a bit louder, “Right now.”

He pulls the idiot to him, jerking the human's head to the side as his fangs sink into tender flesh and Williams tries to scream to no avail. The hand enclosed around his prey’s throat is crushing the larynx. If he wasn’t planning on draining this idiot dry, he’d be dying of suffocation.

Most the time, when he feeds, he makes sure his dinner doesn’t realize he’s doing it or is so blissed out that they don’t care that he’s feeding. This time however he goes for the most pain he can cause since this idiot cost him years without his best friend and lover. He takes his time, drawing out the pain as he drains the idiot dry. He delights in the way Tommy heart struggles to pump with less and less blood, the way the idiots lungs try to drag in air when he’s not allowing it.

The last thing he does before finishing is strip the fool’s mind of everything. It makes him see spots, but it will be handy information. Besides, M and Q will both want to know what the idiot could have said had he not killed him. He can purge the information later, he’s gotten good at that in the years since he discovered he wasn’t human.

When he’s done, right before the heart stops beating, he tosses the idiot like a rag doll at the nearest wall, grinning in delight at the crunching of bones.

He should be nice and call for a cleanup crew but he doesn’t feel like coming up with a story.

With all the fresh blood rushing through his system his senses are almost four times higher than normal, so he catches a familiar steady heartbeat long before R comes walking towards him.

“I’ll take care of this,” she tells him just out of reach, as if that means anything to him when he wants to attack. “Here is your information. There are extraction details for yourself, Trevelyan, and five others. I didn’t check them any further than to confirm the flight has the seven registered.”

He nods, accepting the file, and quirking a questioning eyebrow.

“Q told me in the past that you’re not quite human, but never said of which variety. I had already gathered that detail however because each Double-O number except 001 is tied to a non-human species or grouping.” She answers the unspoken question with a rueful smile. “Now get so I can clean up this mess.”

He just nods, turning and striding away, he doesn’t bother listening in to what is being said as she calls it in with her radio.

Now that his prey has been dealt with, and he is quite sure that M has had plenty of time to review the information provided, he heads to her office to have a chat with her about the traveling documentation.

Slipping into the office, he waits for her to acknowledge him, going completely still while he waits.

“I hate when you do that,” she snaps when she glances up. “Breath, move, something other than act like a statue.”

Snickering, he leans against the wall, intentionally moving occasionally so she can’t complain about it.

When she is ready, she looks up at him, stating, “It appears that everything has been arranged. According to the quartermaster stopping you would not be an option.”

He shrugs, not saying anything but agreeing with that statement. There is nothing in this world that will keep him from Alec if he has anything to say about it.

“The information proved is already being confirmed, however it has come to my attention through this process that there is a traitor among our ranks,” she continues, watching him with hack eyes. She might smell human, but he’s got a feeling she’s not actually as human as she seems.

Again he doesn’t say anything in response because he’s already dealt with the traitor, is quite pleased from the memories he absorbed that there isn’t others he needs to kill, and wants to get on the road. He’s got somewhere to be and it isn’t here.

“Go away Bond, fetch your partner and the other people that exit pass is for, try not to make too big of a mess along the way,” she orders him before going back to her paperwork. “Q should have your equipment ready, beyond the documents I see you already have.”

His lips quirk up in a bit of a smirk, “Ma’am.”

Turning on his heel, he quickly leaves the office heading back to Q Branch where Q has all of his supplies waiting for him, including a new gun, two exploding pens, and a set of specialized knives. Even better is the supplies for Alec, knives that can be enhanced with elemental energy.

“Good luck Bond,” Q tells him nodding and going off to work on a different project.

It’s time to get Alec, excitement rushes through him. He’s so ready for this. He’ll just make a quick stop at his house to send a message that he’s on the way.


	17. After Lunch

Mason’s POV

He’s relieved when Alec doesn’t say anything about his slip up in the shower. He’s hoping that means the sardonyx blonde has nothing to say on the matter but he has a feeling that isn’t the case at all. He gets the impression of a cat or bird of prey waiting for just the right moment.

They have lunch together, simple but wonderfully tasting soup that makes him hum in pleasure. He definitely could get used to stable meals again. That’d be wonderful. Through the entire meal, he almost feels watched but it’s not unsettling, much to his surprise. Yet every time he has glanced at the elemental he has found that he isn’t being watched. Which just confuses him because why does he feel watched if he isn’t being watched? Are his instincts screwing up? He doesn’t think so. Is it possible for air to be watching him since he knows that the elemental has excellent control? That could be it.

Shaking his head, he pushes that away, and just focuses on the food.

Afterwards, he comments, “I’m gonna see if there’s a response yet.” He doesn’t mention he’s not only checking to see if James responded, but to see what MI6 is doing in response to his actions.

“All right,” Alec hums in agreement, green eyes meeting his speculatively, something hot, and not just the elemental's ability to manipulate fire, burning in them.

His mouth feels suddenly dry, so he downs his tea before rising and heading to the computer. He’s confused by the fact he’s already getting frisky again. Why does everything suddenly seem so charged? He has to be misreading the situation. Or is he? Does he want to know? Yes. No. Maybe. He really doesn’t know right now. What he does know is he’s going to end up back in the shower at this rate!

After booting the computer up, he checks for messages, grinning when he finds the two from James. The first being confirmation of receiving the information, the second being an on-the-way.

He's just about done on the computer when he suddenly feels a warmth behind and around him.   
  
"Is there a response?" Alec murmurs, breath hot against his ear and neck.  
  
"Yes," he stutters, suddenly feeling breathless again. "He's on the way. M is going through the files. Things are going mostly according to plan."  
  
"Perfect," the elemental purrs.

Alec's been fairly close to him the last few days, mostly sharing heat because he's been so cold. This feels _different_. He doesn't know if it really is or not. He should ask. He doesn't want to ask. Asking could be embarrassing.   
  
He goes to turn around, and finds himself nose to nose with Alec.  
  
His eyes widen, tongue darting out to wet his lips.  
  
"Something you want to discuss?" The elemental queries, voice rougher than he remembers.

He's not sure what he should do. He could answer that question, maybe.  Does he want to discuss it? He probably should. Does he want to just do something? That's probably not a good idea. Still an appealing one. Most elementals are not telepathic, he thinks thankfully. This would be even more awkward if Alec was telepathic.  
  
"Ummmm," he hums, eyes darting everywhere.   
  
"You know I could hear you earlier, right?" Alec queries softly, breath fanning over his face and sending a shiver down his back.

He considers nodding but their faces are so close together he's pretty sure that he'd end up kissing Alec instead. Should he? Would that be bad? He's sure that his motives would be paged.  
  
Twice he opens his mouth, twice he closed it without saying anything. He doesn't know what he wants to do.   
  
He had just been discovering his sexually when his life went wrong. What should he do?   
  
"I almost think you're overthinking," Alec murmurs, "What do you want?"

“What do I want?” he repeats. Eyes going wide as he considers that question.   
  
“Yes,” Alec purrs hotly. “What,” his chair is rotated around so he’s fully facing the older man, “do,” the tips of their noses just barely touch, “you,” their lips are almost touching, and it feels far more intimate than he expects, “want?”  
  
“I,” he stutters, not sure what to say. He bites his lip, deciding that this is a yes, or as close to one as he is getting without asking aloud, and if Alec heard him earlier this is either a cruel prank or a wish come true. He’s going with wish come true.  
  
Tipping his head slightly, he curiously leans forward, pressing their lips together though he doesn’t have a clue what to do past that. Alec thankfully takes over, and takes it as his own form of _yes_.

Calloused fingers, warmer than his skin and answering that question, cup his jaw, encouraging him to tip his head just a bit more, slotting their lips together just a bit more. He’s startled when Alec’s tongue swipes across his lips, causing him to gasp.

Surprisingly, the elemental doesn’t deepen the kiss, keeping it where it is right now with gentle pressure against his lips. Letting him guide how fast or harder or something. He doesn’t know what. He does know he almost feels dizzy from a lack of oxygen, even though he’s pretty sure it’s not from a lack of breathing. More of a overflow of emotions.

When they break apart he’s dazed. Eyes wide and lips feeling swollen. He almost wants to look in a mirror because he feels wrecked so he wonders if he looks it too.

Alec’s eyes are hot, burning emeralds with amber fire, causing need to curl low in his belly and want to flash through his system.

“Wow,” he mumbles, sure he should say something but not sure what else to say.

The older man’s lips twist upwards in a pleased smile, which sends another bolt of lust through him.

Stepping back, Alec offers him a hand without saying a word. Leaving it up to him whether he wants to accept it or not. Whether he wants to try something or not.

Does he want to? He could leave it as a fantasy, he’s sure he wouldn’t be judged for that. But the chance to do something more? Does he want it? Fuck yes.

Grinning, he accepts the hand as he stands up, just to get tugged in a firm hug. They are close enough in height, he barely has to tip his head and they’re kissing again. Only this time Alec does deepen it. Tongue lightly flicking against his lips, before slowly tracing his teeth to curl around his.

He doesn’t know the right words to explain the way it feels. Sending warmth through his system. It’s nothing like he has felt before. In no way does it compare to anything that has happened to him in the last few years.

He’s not sure how long they stand there, but he enjoys every minute of it and doesn’t actually want it to stop. He groans in protest when it does.

Snickering, Alec nips at his lip, murmuring, “I think you and James will get along famously.”

He’s not sure if that is a good thing or not. Does that mean Alec wants to stop?

“Sofa or bed?” the elemental queries, kissing a trail to his ear, nipping at the lobe lightly, and making him tilt his head to give the sardonyx blonde better access.

“Wherever is more comfortable?” he answers questioningly. Not sure which would be better.

Chuckling, Alec steps back, hand catching his in a light grasp before turning and heading towards the stairs.

He follows willingly enough, curious to see where all this will go. He wasn’t expecting anything to come of his attraction. He’s both excited and terrified. What if he screws up? The only practical experience he has doesn’t count as it wasn’t his choice. He shoves that away, focusing on the here and now. He’s going to enjoy whatever happens next. Fuck those who tried to ruin this for him. He won’t let them. 


	18. Laughter and Sorrow

Alec’s POV

He can nearly feel the excitement building in the younger man as they make their way upstairs to his bedroom. Is this the right choice? Maybe not. But he’s got a pretty good idea that Mason doesn’t know how to ask, and would be embarrassed if he tried. Since he is already aware of the younger man’s attraction from what he heard in the shower, there is no reason he can’t make this easier on both of them.

Upon reaching the bedroom door, he pushes it open but waits to see whether Mason goes in there or not. It’s not as warm as the other room. Not that that means much with him around. He generates heat easier than the furnace does.

For a moment the younger man hesitates by the door, eyes flickering between him and it before Mason nods.

A small smile tugs at his lips and he's actually relieved as he prefers his bed to the others in the house. Still, it is up to his companion where they will spend some time.

Once inside the room, he shuts the door, flaring out his winds and heat to warm the room up quickly.

Mason swallows reflexively, looking around the room cautiously. One hand comes up to toy with the button on the younger man's shirt.

Stepping a bit closer, he smiles, reaching out to take hold of the other hand and lift it to his lips. Kissing the knuckles softly.

There is an immediate reaction as the dark haired hacker's breath seems to catch and eyes go wide.

"If you chose to stop, that's fine, simply say so. If you need to slow down, that's fine, simply say so." He murmurs, lightly pressing another kiss to the knuckles. He takes his time lightly kiss along the edge of Mason's hand, down the curve of the thumb, to press his lips against the pulse of the wrist.

The younger man nods wordlessly, eyes vibrant gold with thin gray rings surrounding wide black pupils.

His thumb slips under the younger man's sleeve to rub lightly at the skin below.

The hand that was playing with the button stops moving, bright eyes narrowing before Mason reaches for the top of his shirt. Stopping just before actually touching.

He grins, pressing another kiss to the younger man's wrist. "Go for it. Whatever you want to try, I'm game for."

Almost cautiously, Mason’s fingers close over the top of his shirt and he considers glancing down because he can’t remember if he wore one with buttons or not. He rarely does, preferring pullovers.

The backs of slender fingers brush against his skin, sending a spark of something familiar through him. It’s almost as if they have been in this position before when he knows they haven’t. It’s something to consider later. Far later. Right now he has better things to focus on.

Slowly the younger man tugs his shirt upwards and he let’s go of Mason’s hand as it comes up. He considers helping, but since they are close to the same height, he decides against it. He’ll let the hacker set the tone between them.

Once the shirt is off, the dark haired artificer seems to freeze for a moment, almost looking confused before glancing about the room and spotting his chair and desk. Flicking his wrist, it’s tossed over to the chair.

He snickers, because he would have been fine with the clothes hitting the floor. It’s something that drives James nuts sometimes, but he’s alright with that. It’s just another thing James and Mason will have in common.

Mason’s fingers brush lightly against his skin before quickly pulling back.

It reminds him of the fact he has been keeping his core body at a warmer than normal temperature lately so he wouldn’t need to wear heavy layers that restrict movement. Instantly he tones it down a bit.

“There,” he murmurs with a grin, “Back to a more normal range.”

“It wasn’t bad, just,” the teen hesitates, “different. I’ve been cold.”

He nods, letting his skin heat back up a bit. He doesn’t actually like keeping it tightly under control because he likes the fact it’s always changing. However he knows he’ll have to be careful because passion and sex tends to spike his temperature as well.

Mason holds a finger up as if to say one moment.

He just nods in agreement, watching the way the artificer uses his pointer finger on his right hand to draw something on his left palm before mirroring the action with the other hand. Then the younger man presses them together, palm to palm, fingers lining up for just a moment before slowly moving so its palm to finger tips.

“Heat?” the younger man comments, voice lilting in question.

Curious, he lets go of the control and returning to his current standard core heat.

This time when Mason’s fingers brush against his skin, it sends a tingle of energy through him. He can almost feel the magic in them.

Grinning, and a bit more certain of himself, the artificer traces along his muscles, almost hesitating before brushing against the various scars.

“I don’t mind,” he states softly, trying for reassuring though he is not sure that is successful.

Mason just nods, eyes meeting his for just a moment before flickering away.

Several minutes are spent standing in the middle of his bedroom while the teen just touches him curiously. At this point it’s not sexual, more exploratory, for which he is perfectly fine with. He hums in pleasure, as slender fingers dance over his skin. Each movement firmer and more confident than the previous one.

He’s almost startled when Mason’s hand slides down his arm, taking hold of his hand just long enough bring it to the teen’s button down shirt.

Grinning, because he gets the hint, he sets to unbuttoning the shirt while the artificer goes back to just touching him.

This is nice, he decides, different. He’s sure there will be plenty of time later for fiery passion and quick tumbles, anyone around James long enough discovers that detail.

Once he has the younger man’s shirt open, he snickers at the discovery of another layer and decides it must be a sign to take off the first so he can get to the next. Unlike Mason, he doesn’t worry about whether the clothes are on the chair or not, the floor is a perfectly respectable place to drop them.

Mason bites his lip, eyes dancing with mirth.

“Go on, you can do it, laugh at the fact I don’t care there’s clothes on the floor,” he suggests, tapping on the younger man’s nose playfully.

A giggle escapes the younger man’s lips, which is promptly covered.

Oh this isn’t working. He's quite sure that it’s been a very long time since the artificer has laughed. That’s going to be the goal for the next few minutes, getting Mason to laugh. The beautiful thing about his control of his winds, he can use them as a way to tease the younger man. His eyes narrow in concentration as he sets to finding out if the younger man has any ticklish spots. It’s probably cheating, but that just makes it more fun.

Mason’s eyes go wide for a moment before narrowing in on him. Another soft huff of laughter escapes the teen’s lips as he mutters, “That’s cheating.”

“Yeah?” he replies sassily, smirking in response.

“Yeah,” his companion agrees, circling him with a calculating look in those ever changing eyes.

A moment later he’s the one laughing as the teen practically pounces, knocking him backwards with a surprising amount of force so they end up on the bed.

“Well then,” he hums, using his hands to tickle as much as the winds.

Of course Mason attempts to tickle him back, but he’s not ticklish so it doesn’t do much good.

He does freeze when the younger man does, meeting suddenly worried eyes.

He drops his hands to Mason’s thighs, eyes narrowing questioningly. “What’s wrong?”

The artificer just shakes his head, not answering.

After a moment of consideration, he butt scoots to up the bed, hands slipping upwards to carefully keep hold of the younger man’s hips as he does so. Once his head hits the pillow, he pulls Mason down beside him, gently stroking along the teen's back.

He doesn’t ask why they went from laughter to this. There is a wide variety of reasons that are probably it. He doesn’t need to ask, he’s pretty sure this is one of those situations where Lidiya would tell him just to let Mason vent in whatever fashion is needed.

“Sorry,” the teen mutters into his throat.

He kisses the younger man’s temple, “There’s nothing to apologize about.”

Mason just curls closer.

“Being angry or sad or anything else isn’t a bad thing,” he states softly, “It’s fine to lash out. It’s fine to break down. It’s fine to be upset.”

“You probably don’t,” the artificer grumbles.

Snickering, he replies, “Yes I do. I can raze a five story building when pissed.”

Lifting up on his elbows, Mason’s eyes go wide, “You say that like you’ve done it.”

“Twice,” he responds with a smile, “Once because my family was attacked by some folks who hated non-humans, I was fourteen. Once because James was nearly killed, I kept my winds around him while I brought the rest of the building down, that was right before I was sent here. I almost suspected that M sent me here as a punishment since I killed the three people he wanted captured.”

For a moment the teen studies him for sincerity. It’s almost like watching the stress fade away as the artificer starts by snickering and it builds into a full blown laughter. One moment Mason is braced on his arms, the next the smaller man is rolling on his back, arm thrown over his face and laughing hard as possible. Slender body shaking with mirth.

He’s moderately sure that it’s a relief, letting it all out in this manner so that another manner can be used later.

“Can we burn them to the ground?” Mason huffs out as the laughter slows.

“Sure, I always delight in blowing things up,” he hums, turning on his side to meet the younger man’s gaze head on as the arm moves.

“I’m tired,” it’s murmured, almost mumbled as Mason scoots a little closer to him.

“Then sleep.” He suggests, “I’m not going anywhere.”

The teenager glances up at him, eyes almost a dull burnished gold.  “Are you sure?” it’s wobbly and worried, but hopeful at the same time.

“Yeah, I’m sure.” He promises softly, sincerely.

He needs to think about the draw and the familiarity. There is only one other person he can remember that being like.


	19. Kisses

Mason’s POV

He wakes up feeling comfortable and warm. At the same time he is trying to remember why he is shirtless. He doesn’t go without a shirt when given a choice, even before his life went completely apeshit.

He’s not really surprised to realize the reason he’s warm is Alec. His last memories before falling asleep the previous night was the elemental promising to be here when he woke up.

Tipping his head up, he’s shocked that the elemental is still asleep. What to do, he wonders absently, he’d sort of like to go back to what they were doing before his emotions decided to go haywire. That was a bit overwhelming, and Alec’s reaction was greatly appreciated since the elemental didn’t make him feel like there was something wrong with him.

Absently he runs the hand thrown across the older man’s chest along smooth skin and muscle.

He likes this, he decides, it’s nice. Alec’s nice and warm, an interesting combination of smooth and textured. He takes his time exploring the warm skin. He knows the moment the older man starts to wake up because of a barely there shiver he feels beneath his fingertips. Smiling, he tips his head upwards to meet sleepy moss green eyes.

“Hi,” he murmurs, pressing a light kiss to the muscle his check has been resting on.

“Sleep good?” Alec replies, a lazy smile tugging at the corners of the elemental’s lips.

He nods slightly, “Yes. I did.”

“Good,” it’s hummed and the slight vibration that moves through his pillow’s body.

He chuckles, deciding to sit up so he is no longer laying on his second arm and has access to both to explore. Maybe he should ask but as Alec isn’t moving to stop him, he’s going to guess that last night ‘whatever’ is still in effect.

Calloused fingers run lightly along the top of his slacks, teasing the edge of his stomach and making him smile.

“May I?” he mumbles curiously, as his hands get lower.

“Yeah,” Alec hums in response, smiling at him warmly.

Biting his lip, his fingers continue the slow downwards trek, skimming along the edge of slacks and pants. Several long moments are spent doing that before he decides to undo the top button.

There is a flash of memory of doing this before with a scaled man but it’s gone before he can figure out who or when that was. Since getting kidnapped, there have been several instances where he has gotten lost in memories that are both his and not his all in one. It’s rather confusing.

His eyes flicker up the well toned body laid out beside him, coming up to meet hot green eyes with burning gold rings.

He wets his suddenly dry lips as he smiles.

Alec just smirks at him, almost a dare, or maybe it isn’t almost a dare but is a dare.

Accepting it, whether it is one or not, he finishes unbuttoning the older man’s slacks. Slender fingers slipping along the edge as he curiously continues his explorations. This is nice, there’s no pressure and it’s fine if he stops. He doesn’t know why, but he trusts the spy.

He starts snickering when the older man lift his hips and the slacks just sort of wiggle on off. There is a light breeze accompanying the slacks as they move which takes him from snickering to giggling.

“It’s rather handy, what I can do with airflow and a bit of creative thinking,” Alec tells him sassily, lips somewhere between a grin and a satisfied smirk.

He giggles harder.

His almost lover just watches him with warm eyes.

Throwing himself down beside the elemental, he stretches out so they are nearly nose to nose again and there isn't much space between them.

“Hi,” he murmurs, skin warming.

“Hello,” Alec hums in response.

“I don't know what I'm doing,” he whispers as his skin heats further.

The elemental brushes a curl out of his face as the older man replies, “That's okay.”

He tips his head slightly as he scoots just a bit forward so he can kisses Alec. It's slow and curious, gentle and explorative. One of his hands slips up Alec’s chest and around his neck to sink in soft hair at the nape of the elemental’s neck. The other he’s laying on currently.

He’s startled when the older man gives him a light shove, pushing him backwards but doesn’t resist rolling on his back.It breaks them apart for a moment, but barely enough time before Alec is there, kissing him again, a bit deeper this time, letting the passion light up between them. Beneath his hands, he can feel the elemental’s skin warm up.

He gasps for air when they break apart again, this time as the older man takes his time scattering kisses against his skin.

His gasps turn to a low moan when Alec applies just a bit of suction to his pulse.

This is nice, different, he thinks as his eyes mostly close and he enjoys the sensations. Nothing like he was expecting. Definitely better.

His eyes snap open and he glances down as calloused finger skim over his sides.

Vibrant emerald eyes meet his, heat dancing in them, desire rather evident, surprising even, though he’s not sure why.

“If,” Alec nibbles his way across his collarbone to the right. “Anything,” the elemental’s hands stroke back upwards. “Doesn’t,” he licks a path back to the center of his collarbone. “Feel,” scatters soft kisses across his collarbone to the left. “Right,” back to the center Alec goes with a combination of kisses and nips. “Tell,” hands skim across the very area that his lover was just kissing. “Me,” it’s punctuated with Alec’s tongue dipping into the hollow at the base of his throat.

“Okay,” he agrees as the elemental starts going further downwards, scatting more kisses across his skin, tongue swirling over thin line scars and teasing as he goes.

He’s currently feeling his slacks are way to tight but he doesn’t have the coordination or focus to get rid of them when he’s being teased so thoroughly.

His back arches in shock when the spy lightly bites his nipple, sending a shock through him, cause he never considered playing with them. Didn’t think it’d be worth while.

He can practically feel the grin against his skin.

Absently drawing designs on skin he can reach, he gives a shove of his own, wanting to see if Alec responds similarly.

Laughing quietly, the older man easily rolls, but grabs his hips so he gets pulled along.

He likes kissing, let's start there, he thinks as he considers what to do. He doesn’t pay attention to the fact he creates familiar designs on Alec’s skin with his hands as he kisses the older man again. Long and deep, leaving him breathless and aching, but he shoves that aside for the moment or he’ll be coming in his pants long before they get past this teasing playfulness. Not that that’s a bad thing, he’s sure his lover would get it, probably even be pleased if he knows anything from his sister’s romance books, but that is not the goal right now. He doesn’t think it is anyways.

It’s not until he feels the spark of power transferring from his finger tips to Alec’s skin that he realizes what he was absently drawing, protective marks, things he’d work into a project normal.

“Meaning?” the spy asks curiously when they break apart.

“Errr, protective, hard to harm charm?” he answers hesitantly, his mum used to tell him not to use any of his gifts on someone else without their permission.

Grinning at him, Alec remarks, “Probably handy.”

He’s relieved though he's not sure why.

They should definitely go back to kissing, he decides.


	20. Statue Park

Mason’s POV

He’s pleasantly sore when he wakes up, like after a good evening of dancing. He has to admit the previous night was much more fun however. It was equal parts fun, embarrassing, arousing, and affectionate. It was much better than his imagination.

Now he needs a shower and to check on the computer. Besides, he’s pretty sure that Alec needs to call his little team to make arrangements.

Stretching, he presses a quick kiss to the warm shoulder he was using as a pillow before scooting out from under the blankets and off the bed. He should probably be feeling much more self-conscious right now, but screw it, he’s refusing to. Collecting his clothes from the random spots it ended up, he heads towards the bathroom.

“I’ll make food,” Alec calls out as he shuts the door, snickering at the elemental. He’s appreciating all the food but is it really necessary?

He takes his time in the shower, mostly because he can, and it’s wonderful. Once he is done, he dries off and dresses before heading downstairs to the kitchen. He freezes just before the door because there is a strange man leaning against the door, and he can hear at least one woman’s voice.

“Mason, this is Bogdan, Raskova, and Dayesi,” Alec states as he passes the tall stranger.

He just nods, eyeing them warily.

“Raskova is the doctor who checked you that first night here, and has instructed me to feed you often,” the spy tells him with the hints of a smile. “Dayesi is her long-term partner. Bogdan is my second for dealing with those who are more loyal to me than the rat face.”

He nods again.

He did research on Dayesi Malinina and Lidiya Raskova after they were originally mentioned yesterday. So he had idea who they are. The one he doesn’t know is Bogdan, he’ll correct that here shortly. Actually, he should just head towards the office and computer and get away from there being too many people for his liking in this space. He trusts Alec, he doesn’t know why but he does. He doesn’t trust these other people. He doesn’t know them.

He starts to back up, planning on bolting when he finds himself stumbling into the elemental and wondering when the older man moved behind him.

“No bolting, you need to eat,” it’s murmured in his ear softly.

It sends a shiver through him, and he considers arguing but decides it’s probably not the time to argue.

“I’ll put the food on the table, you four sit down,” the doctor declares, her voice lilting.

Again he considers bolting.

“Yes Liliya,” Dayesi agrees glancing at him.

He’s not liking all of the attention in his direction. Quietly he takes a seat and hopes that the others don’t sit next to him or talk to him except maybe Alec. He’s okay with Alec.

Frowning at the table, he considers whether he’s always had issues with people or whether this is new. After a few moments where he doesn’t pay attention to anything around him past knowing that they aren’t getting closer, he determines that it’s new. He didn’t have the people avoidance before his life was turned upside down. Actually, he dealt with a lot people in place of his mum who would get anxious or his dad who was always working. They travelled, not because his mum was a Roma but because his dad’s job had them moving from place to place. Being a Roma just made it amusing.

Shaking his head, he turns his attention to the people around him, trying to get a feel for what Bogdan is like and these other two that he has looked up but hadn’t found a lot of information on.

They’re close knit, he decides as he watches Alec set the table using the winds to do so. Comfortable with each other. That’s good. He knows these two ladies are part of the group to possibly leave Russia, he’d bet this stranger is another one.

“What’s the plan?” Dayesi as she makes herself a plate.

“Destroy Ourumov and everyone connected to him and leave Russia.” Alec answers bluntly.

“That’s the goal,” she rolls her eyes, “Now how are we doing it?”

“Discuss bloodshed and whatnot after breakfast,” the doctor interrupts.

He’s pretty sure that isn’t the first she’s said that due to the shared look between Dayesi and Alec.

Bogdan is watching him with narrow eyes, which is setting his nerves off and as he is touching something solid while holding a knife, he’s considering zapping the other man. It wouldn’t be too hard. All he needs to do is channel some of the natural electricity in the wood towards the other man’s silverware. He’s definitely going to do something if he keeps getting stared at. He’s really doesn’t like it.

He’s just started etching the rune for electricity when a soft wind wraps lightly around his fingertips.

He looks over, blushing at the arched brow and amusement in jade eyes.

“Stop flirting with Mason, Pyotr,” Alec remarks calmly.

“What?” Bogdan just about jumps it seems, eyes going wide as the other man looks at the elemental.

Lidiya chuckles, smiling at her cup as she takes a drink.

“You’re staring, what else did you expect it to be taken as?” Dayesi inquires sweetly.

The doctor chuckles harder.

Bogdan stutters for a moment before snapping his mouth shut and glaring at his plate.

The air uncurls from around his fingers and he almost misses it, which doesn’t make sense.

The rest of breakfast goes relatively calmly. There isn’t a lot of chattering, and with the exception of Bogdan it’s fairly calm and even a bit welcoming. He still wants to zap the other man, just on principle but doesn’t try cause he’s already been caught. He doesn’t like being stared at, directly or indirectly, it’s annoying. The fact it reminds him of the bitch and her idiot sycophants isn’t going to be mentioned.

As soon as he’s done, he withdraws to the other room to check the computer, grinning when he discovers the message waiting for him, and snickering over the fact it is an update about plans on James’ end of things.

Everything is set for James and Alec to meet in the statue park under the conditions currently set in play. To make it look like one thing when it is actually something very different. He’s looking forward to getting the hell out of here, and hopes that Alec is explaining to those three what the current plans are.

In the meantime he has some computers to fuck up in the best ways for him but not so much for their users. After all, he has his own part to play.

oOoOoOo

Alec’s POV

He keeps an eye on the hacker as they eat breakfast. It’s not hard to tell the young man wants to bolt. It is amusing when Mason’s slate eyes narrow and slender fingers start tracing something on the table. Since he doesn’t want there to be issues between those he trusts and the teen, he carefully directs winds around those slender fingers, trying to shape it like a hand, though he’ll be the first to admit that he doesn’t do well with shaping the winds into small objects. He needs a hurricane or tornado, he’s good, he needs to do something small, it takes concentration. Of course he calls Bogdan on why Mason was doing something on the table.

As soon as the food is gone, the teen is up and out of the dining room before anyone can say anything about it.

“I don’t trust him,” Bogdan mutters, glaring after the black haired hacker.

“I’m sure the feeling is entirely mutual,” he retorts calmly before changing the topic, “Here’s the current plan.”

The next hour is filled with discussing the plan as it has been agreed upon so far and getting their input for the parts that haven’t been. It’s not the cleanest plan but it should work wonderfully for completely screwing with Ourumov and many of the other problems. They just have to make it look good.

He’s not surprised that Bogdan has the most problems with the plan. A lot of it relies on Mason, and he knows his friend doesn’t tend to trust people easily. Of course, he doesn’t trust people easily normally either, there’s just something about the hacker that makes him want to protect the spitfire and set the younger man free on everyone with him and James as back up. He’s got a feeling that healthy and well fed Mason will be a very dangerous person to piss off. After all, the teen can design things with more power than anything a human would pull off, and that alone should be a warning sign.

Dayesi agrees with the plan with very little to say, that is surprising. Instead she watches with a thoughtful expression and he’s sure she is considering the entire situation.

Raskova appears concerned but she doesn’t actually say anything against the plan, instead she suggests they set to putting everything in order, including their property so it can be easily shipped out before hell breaks lose. That’s probably a good idea actually.

They’re getting ready to leave when Mason appears in the doorway. “Do you have phones?” the teen asks with a quick glance at each questioningly. “Mobiles, I mean?”

Dayesi has one in her purse, as does Rasokva but Bogdan does not, and both ladies hold them up.

Mason plucks them from the pair before heading towards the basement without saying anything else.

He starts snickering, particularly at the offended look that Bogdan is sending after the artificer.

“This won’t take long,” he hears the teen mutter, “Now where did those, they’re they are, lets make these a bit better shall I?”

“He’s upgrading them,” he comments to the pair, “It’s one of the reasons Ourumonva wanted him, not that she got what she wanted. He’s a bit stubborn when he wants to be.”

His fellow spy nods in understanding.

“I’ll help you clean up,” Raskova offers, as she sets to picking things up even though he very easily could have dealt with it.

“Thank you,” he replies seriously.

“So what are you keeping from here?” Dayesi queries, glancing about the room.

“My books and what not,” he answer with a shrug, he hasn’t put much thought into it yet. Actually, he’s considered hiring a moving agent or having a few of his more loyal minions pack everything up. Both have merits but he’s not planning on using either until he is ready to.

“I’ll make the arrangements,” Raskova offers when she slips back in the dining room, “I’m much more innocent looking and good at getting people to do what I want without having to be threatening.”

Snorting, Dayesi replies sassily, “Empathy just makes it a bit easier.”

Trying for innocent, Lidiya declares, “Me? Use my empathy? Oh no never.”

He chuckles at the ladies exchange, happy things worked out with them, “Thank you. I’ll give you the address to the storage unit I have.”

“Perfect,” she states.

They end up discussing the plan a bit more while Mason is downstairs working on the mobile phones. He keeps an ear out for the younger man, well, he keeps his attention partly on the air that comes through the circulation from the basement air vents. The hacker is gleefully making his changes and improvements.

Almost two hours later, Mason comes back up and passes the phones to the ladies, now half the size they were when he took them before grudgingly handing one to Bogdan and wandering away, heading towards the kitchen.

“What did he change?” Dayesi asks as she turns hers on and starts carefully studying it.

“They’ll never die. They’re fire, water, and electricity resistant. They can be used to message the computer. They can reach each of your phones and be used to call external phones.” Mason answers as the young man comes back with something to drink in his hands. “I didn’t have time to improve them past that.”

“You  couldn’t have done all that two hours.” Bogdan states in disbelief.

“I rebuilt and completely reprogrammed an entire computer in under eight hours, why would simple phones be hard?” the teenager demands, glaring at his second.

Bogdan’s eyes widen and anger flashes through the human’s eyes.

“Thank you,” Raskova cuts in, stepping between the two and smiling at Mason.

The artificer nods, commenting, “Your regular numbers will work, as will as the programming codes I put on them. I already programmed Alec’s in even though I haven’t actually got it done yet.”

“You’re quite brilliant.” Dayesi murmurs thoughtfully, “Well, let’s get this show in the road.”

He’s got a feeling those two will need to work their issues out, but they can do that later, after they deal with this mess. He is ordering them to leave Russia with him, but he is giving them the option if they want it. Now it’s just a matter of getting everything done on time.

oOoOoOo

James’ POV

For a katane he’s awful fond of water, he thinks as he swims in the pool waiting for the contact, he hears the moment a person comes in. Time to get out of the pool and go back to getting his Alec back. This has been a very long three days, particularly considering he wants his love back _now._ He understands the need to deal with the loose ends first, to avoid future problems. Which is the entire reason they are currently playing this little game. To draw those loose ends out to destroy them.

He has just getting ready to pass the sauna when a woman comes out from behind a pillar. Grabbing her arm, he tosses her in, not putting his full strength behind it because he’s not currently showing off the fact he’s not human. That’s for later as he has already been warned about the bitch who needs to die, she’ll make a tasty meal, he thinks as he pulls the gun out of the towel and aims it at her head. Probably a good thing Q makes these damned things waterproof with his love of water.

She almost looks demented as she nearly purrs, “You don’t need the gun, commander,” shaking her head and smirking.

She needs practice, he thinks, he’s definitely not going to give it to her however. “That depends on your definition of safe sex,” he retorts, hand not wavering.

A moment later she is in his face trying to dominate him and kiss him.

Internally he groans and remembers that she’s supposed to lead him to the ‘ambush’, he can deal with her then, first got to get to that part of the game.

The next several minutes are spent acting like a human as they ‘struggle’ for power before he has his gun back in her face and demanding to be taken to ‘Janus’ already knowing it’s his Alec. Her calling him a bitch is rather amusing considering.

It seems like forever until they are pulling up to the statue park and where he knows his love is waiting.

“You’ll understand if I don’t call,” he states as he opens his senses up to figure out where everyone is and whether they are a threat or not.

“I won’t lose sleep over it,” she snarks in response.

After looking around manually, he hits the back of her head, muttering, “Sweet dreams,” not that she’s going to wake up. He pulls her backwards in the seat, and bites down on the rather convenient vein. Targets and problems make such good snacks, he thinks before licking his lips clean and snapping her neck.

Slipping out of the car, he goes back to paying careful attention with his senses to what’s going on around him. There is at least two people he doesn’t know nearby, and then the most important person is approaching. Even though he has his gun up, there is no intention of using it unless one of the strangers tries causing a problem.

“Hello James,” Alec’s voice cuts through the air, making his heart skip in uncomfortable ways. He’s sure if he hadn’t known it was his love he was meeting, he’d probably be a bit overwhelmed.

Turning, he watches as his elemental approaches through a door bathed in light and swirling with fog. Alec definitely hasn’t lost the flare for the dramatics.

Sharpening his senses, he slowly takes in the younger man. He’s started by what appears to be burn marks along the side of his elemental’s face even though he’s seen them since Arkhangel and knew about them. For some reason he had expected them to heal upon learning that his love hadn’t been killed by the assassination attempt he thought had killed Alec four years ago. Chrysoprase green eyes meet his, crinkling in pleasure and warmth. A small smirk plays at the edge of his fellow spy’s lips, and warmth suddenly surrounds him like an intimate embrace.

“Alec,” he states, trying to keep from beaming because it is one thing to think he is getting his love back, it is another for him to actually be face to face with his elemental.

“Back from the dead, no longer just an anonymous star on the memorial wall at MI6.” Alec states aloud, at least that’s what echoes through the air.

Slowly he drops the gun, biting back a smile and having a difficult time keeping his current form because he wants to just enfold his love in his arms and not let go.

“What’s the matter James? No glib remark, no pithy comeback,” words designed to remind him they are in the middle of a game and it is best not to break out yet.

“Why?” he asks, both as part of the game and because he really wants to know what has kept them apart for the last few years.

“Hilarious question, particularly from _you_ ,” the stress on the word tells him a lot more than someone listening in might understand. He was threatened or reported dead. Alec lost contact with him because it was thought he was gone. It wasn’t because his love wanted to. It’s there in the words that follow, the anger and sadness loaded into the words. Words he has to listen carefully to in order to get the exact meaning.

He has to keep himself from laughing at the background story Alec gives, because it is impossible since he knows Alec was born years after that mess, and that his elemental is actually from Cornwell. It was human idiots who harmed his family, but not the ones that ‘Janus’ is talking about.

“By the way, I did think of asking you to your my little scheme but somehow I knew that Double-Oh-Seven’s loyalty was always to the mission,” his love states, eyes flickering past him and winds warming around him again, a clear warning about what’s about to occur.  “Never to his friend. Closing time James, last call.”

He just barely nods before a dart hits the side of his neck and he goes down, grunting in frustration because he’s supposed to be the dramatic one, even if Alec is very good at outdoing him.

Since he’s playing at being a human for the moment, he just lays there pretending to be affected by the dart and not saying anything.

Familiar hands lift him up, and he just relaxes into Alec’s grip, even as he feels something slipped into his pocket.

“Almost there James, just have to flush out the hidden members of the generals team, then we can burn them down and go home,” Alec murmurs in his ear.

“Good,” he agrees, without moving his lips, knowing full well that Alec’s ability to manipulate the air will make it easier for him to understand.

The moment ends far too soon for his liking but he still plays along, he’s got a goal, and he’s not losing now. Time to finish this mess.


	21. Execution

James’ POV

Whose bloody idea was it to put him in a stolen helicopter with a banshee of a woman and aim missiles at it? He wonders as he uses his head to get them out of this situation and while she is distracted with them going up, quickly twist and jerks with his wrists to break the bonds. They’re definitely talking later. As the pod drops back down to the ground, he checks his pocket, finding a curious little device in it. He’ll have to get a better look at it in a bit, right now he has a part to keep playing.

The next few hours are spent with a woman he’s pretty sure is a tool in this mix and soldiers who are staying annoyingly quiet. They’re lead into a cold interrogation room. He’s just getting the woman he’s with to talk when the Russian defense minister comes striding in.

It’s almost fun bantering with the other man, catching a slight hint of _other_ but he really would like this to end sooner than later. His gun has been removed from his pocket but that’s it, and considering he has that odd device, it’s rather intriguing. He’s pretty sure it’s supposed to be a mobile but it’s not like any he knows of.

He’s sure something is about to happen and loosens his grip on his senses again, when Ourumov bursts in. There is a bit of a scuffle between to the two Russians before the arsehole kills the defense minister and tries to kill him. Not that it’s very successful. He uses a quick burst of speed to knock Ourumov out and kill the guards before they have a chance to do anything. He’s moderately certain that the woman will be handy, so he takes her with him as he leaves. He dims his hearing to avoid a headache before the gun fighting starts, and he finds himself in a prolonged gunfight before using his belt to get out. Only he manages to lose the woman to the general he needs to kill.

He tries to keep the civilian death toll down as he follows the general with a tank, though he is sure the property damage alone will give several people heart failure. Now does he continue to track them with the tank or go hop on the train? As it is just moving, he could easily put on a burst of speed to get there. He’s currently got more than enough energy after feeding earlier. Best use the tank for now.

oOoOoOo

Mason’s POV

After the trio leaves, he heads back downstairs and sets to working on three more phones using the pieces of plastic and computer laying about. He even snags a few things from the bomb making supplies on the other workshop area.

His focus drops off from the world around him, going into making these phones, and then testing them as best as he can calling his parents old numbers even though he knows they are gone. They were destroyed when his home was demolished. He then takes them upstairs to test them against the computer, making sure the messaging that he installed would work. He nearly yells in excitement when it works. Particularly the secondary feature he installed. The fact he can turn them on remotely and listen to what’s going on around the owner. He only put that feature on the phones for James and Alec as they are the ones he cares about. He also charms them so the only person who is aware of them is the person they belong to and him. It’s a charm his dad used to use for tools to keep them from being stolen. For all people like to claim the Roma are thieves, he’s met more that aren’t than their gadjo counterparts.

“They’re done,” he comments, knowing the elemental can hear him no matter where the spy is in the house currently.

A few minutes later the sardonyx blonde is standing beside him, waiting patiently for him to finish what he is doing on the computer.

“Here you are,” he offers the phones. “This one is for you. I programmed the ladies and the other man’s numbers and codes in under their names, along with James and the computer for me. This one is for James.”

Alec tucks James’ in his pocket before taking his time carefully studying the phone. It’s design is not like most of the current phones. He’s actually very pleased with the design. He used a few pieces of thin glass carefully etched with the non-breaking runes for the screen. The buttons are all laptop keys that he converted into the bottom and the backing was a piece of plastic that he used the blowpipe on. It’s definitely not the prettiest looking thing but it’s very effective.

“It works just like a regular mobile phone, it’s just a bit,” he pauses as he looks for the right word, “different. I can make better ones with actual supplies for it.”

“You can do that back in England, I’m sure Q will let you use whatever you want in the workshop,” the elemental remarks as he tucks the second phone in a different pocket.

“It’s currently set to be a very low ringer and vibrate rather than a full ring tone. I figured that’d be safer for the moment.” He tells the older man with a hesitant smile.

“Thank you,” Alec states softly, sincerely.

He just nods, happy that they are getting closer to leaving this damned country. He’s sure he would have liked it in any other situation than the one he found himself in. The comment about Q makes him feel warm low in his stomach, it implies he’ll still be around and not just left to fend for himself. He can handle that, he likes Alec after all, hopefully he will like James as well.

oOoOoOo

Alec’s POV

He can’t describe exactly how elated he feels when he spots James in the park after the katane kills Xenia. Good. One problem down, two to go. The bantering is fun, he’s missed his friend and partner more than he cares to admit and can’t stop himself from wrapping the katane in a warm cocoon of air as they talk.

He was uncomfortable leaving Mason at the house, but it turned out to be the right choice, he thinks as the events unfold. There is a bit more that needs to happen before the teenager can join them for the last leg of this mission. The two mobiles in his pocket draw his attention, the one for him, and the one for James.

As he lifts James up, he uses his winds to transfer the phone from his pocket to James. Almost immediately it fades from his notice. That’s interesting, he knows logically that James has the phone now, but he doesn’t know where it is and isn’t actually aware of it if not focusing on it.

“Almost there James,” he whispers, lips barely brushing against his lover's ear. “Just have to flush out the hidden members of the generals team,” he takes a deep breath of the older man's scent. “Then we can burn them down and go home.”

He smiles at the way James relaxes into his grasp, quietly humming, “Good.”

“Keep acting,” he suggests as he settles his love in the helicopter and sets the missiles to go.

“Arse.” The katane mutters as he closes the door after tying James’ wrists to the arm holders.

Not that those ropes will hold, he thinks as he walks away. Those ropes aren’t made for vampires and katanes. There will be no issues for his love to twist and snap those ropes.

The man with him is one of Ourumov’s, there to make sure he doesn't pull any stunts for the plan. How unfortunate for him, the stunts already been pulled.

oOoOoOo

Mason’s POV

He turns the phones on so he can listen to the situation as it unfolds. He hopes it goes according to plan, he’d really like it to go according to plan. If it goes according to plan, he’ll get to watch as the bitches house gets lit on fire, preferably with her inside it.

He knows his mum would not be happy with the fact he wants them dead, call it bad karma and remind him that there Goddess wouldn’t approve. Sadly, she’s not alive to tell him that herself. Personally he thinks their Goddess would understand as she is both a loving mother goddess and a furious vengeance goddess.

Tipping his head back and closing his eyes, he tries to remember the last time he thought of Her? It’s been at least a year, but it was right before he started having the ‘memories’. He’s pretty sure that it was the Goddess’ way of giving him comfort at the time. At the same time, it’s head spinning that he sees images of other lives and other people, yet he knows that it’s always him he’s in. There is also something very familiar about the people he ends up with or around despite the fact they rarely are the same people.

For a time he lets the memories and feelings wash through him. He’s going to try and record them all sometime, because he doesn’t want to lose that which kept him sane even as he inverted his gifts to survive. Artificers don’t use magic the way a witch, spellcaster, or mage does. They’re magic comes from the creation and making, yet he inverted it so he could use it on himself to survive hell, and that seems to have left a last impression on his power since he’s noticed his ability to use runes on their own has grown.

Shaking his head, he pushes the thoughts away of the bitch and her cronies, quite pleased with the fact they will soon be dead.

oOoOoOo

Dayesi’s POV

She’s very uncomfortable with the fact Alec is going to be mostly on his own through this mess. While she trusts his abilities just fine, she’s not certain she trusts this James person. After all, Alec’s friend and partner has been very absent for the last three years and rarely around before that. It makes her wary. The only time that he was around in her memory, her Lidisha said he wasn’t human but wasn’t certain what he was. He set her love’s nerves on high alert and that is another reason not to trust him.

Then there is Mason. There is something about the teenager that makes her think there is far more to the black haired man than meets the eye. He’s a hacker and an artificer. She pulls her cell phone out to study the changes the teenager made. Outwardly it looks the same as always, however she has already discovered the listing of quickcodes that could be used for their small group. There is also one listed as the computer which she bets is the one Mason rebuilt and mentioned during his response to Bogdan.

Her part of this mess is making sure all the players at the Ourumov Mansion are where they are supposed to be so they dealt with. It’s not something she is looking forward to, at the same time she is very much looking forward to it. She’s wanted to kill most of them for a while but it wasn’t an advantage to do so. Now it is.

Lidisha and her discussed whether they wanted to relocate to England or another country since Alec will be leaving Russia. She knows that they could stay, but really, what reason would they? Yes they have a nice house, but another nice house can easily be bought or built. They both like working for Alec, the only question is will they still work for him after leaving here or would they need to find something else? She hasn’t been bound to a government since the collapse of the Soviet Union and would prefer not to be. At the same time, she would rather follow him to London and have to figure out a new life path than stay here in the ruins. They still haven’t made their choice, or her Lidisha has and she just hasn’t caught on yet. That’s altogether possible.

Her attention returns to the Mansion as she sees Matrona head inside with her favorite lapdogs. Good. Now all she needs is that idiot who will do anything for her, and then they can deal with this section of the problem. Actually, she should see where Alec is in his portion of this mess.

oOoOoOo

Alec’s POV

He really does hate this train, he thinks as he waits for that idiot general to show up since the bitch Xenia is already dead. Thank you James for that. If he’s lucky, the phone in his pocket will ring and it will be James telling him the rat faced general is already dead. He doesn’t think it will be that easy however, things rarely ever are that easy in life. So he’ll eat the food and wait, the idiot that was with him at the statue park waiting just by the kitchen door.

He has just finished eating when the idiot comes in with a frustrated looking woman who he is pretty sure not having a good day.

Wiping his face, he studies her speculatively, keeping his winds and flame aura tight to his body. Now would not be a good time to let loose. He doesn’t plan on killing anyone who doesn’t need to die.

“You’ve brought me the perfect gift General Ourumov,” he comments, eyes skimming over her and amused at the amount of attitude she is portraying.  “You’ve made me a very unhappy man.” He’s sure that the general won’t actually know why he’s unhappy, he’s rather good at hiding his disgust of the idiot.

Picking up one of the small sandwiches off the table, the rat face replies, “Mishkin got to them before I could.”

The idiot tosses the food down, and it’s a good thing that he was done eating otherwise he would have lost his appetite with that sort of behavior, just to pull as cask out of his pocket.

“Bond is alive?” he queries as if he didn’t already know that answer.

Ourumov huffs out a dry laugh as he opens the cask, “He escaped,” the fool downs what’s in it.

The woman crosses her arms, looking a bit like she wants to yell at someone, currently her focus is on him, but he’s got a feeling she is more aware of her surroundings than appearances show.

His lips twitch in a smirk, “Good for Bond,” he meets the general’s eyes as he states, “Bad for you.”

Ourumov visibly trembles,eyes widening slightly, swallowing hard. The idiots afraid. Perfect.

His eyes shift to the woman, it doesn’t take much for him to realize she was the sole survivor of that mess regarding GoldenEye once the game was put into play. She looks like she has seen far better days according to her eyes, but she is defiant and furious according to expression and posture. That’s good.

“Take a seat, my dear,” he directs her, considering how to play this situation. He refuses to give up his hand before it’s time to blow everything up.

For a long moment she stares at him, studying him and trying to get a read on his intentions if he’s not mistaking her body language, then she walks past him to settle on one of the chairs while glaring at everybody.

“How did you like my daughter’s gift?” Ourumov asks as the general fidgets in place.

He smirks, “Quite well, he’s a spitfire.”

“That he is, I told her she was wasting her time with him,” the idiot remarks, glancing out the window.

He doesn’t respond to that, instead he asks, “Is everything in order beyond Bond on your part?”

“Of course!” Ourumov declares angrily. “I don’t know how that man doesn’t die.”

He has to bite back a chuckle because he knows the answer to that, James isn’t human and trying to kill him will take a far deal more than this idiot would be able to muster thankfully.

Rising, he walks over to her chair and leans against it behind her. “You know, James and I shared everything,” he states in dark amusement loud enough for the general to hear, “Absolutely everything.” He uses his winds to make it seem longer than it is while he tells her quietly under that cover, “Be very offend and very angry but you’re currently the only person on this train beside me who’s going to live.”

She tenses up for a moment before her head just barely inclines, hopefully as a sign she heard what he had to say.

Switching back to being able to be heard by the idiot he repeats, “Absolutely everything,” with a wistful smile. They’ll share everything again, soon, and hopefully Mason would like to stay with them. That’s thoughts for after this mess is done, however. He’s very good at acting creepy when he needs to, and this is one of those moment. Brushing the hair away from her ear, he states, “To the victor go the spoils.”

He considers being creepier but decides against it, he’s really not in the mood for that sort of game. However he does act like he is going to force her to kiss him and gets slapped for his trouble. Good, she’s getting the clue.

When the alarm goes off because there is something in the track, he grins in dark trump. Part one is about to occur. He uses the walkie talkie to tell the conductor full speed, his winds flaring out around himself and the woman as a protect shield as he braces for impact.

The sound of ripping metal and failing people fills his ears but he easily ignores it. The second they collide, his focuses and lets loose his flames, taking the small fires caused by the crash and tripling their strength. Everything goes up in flames, including the general who screams in agony for a long moment before finally dying. The woman stares at him in horror, not that he cares about that currently.

“Come on out of that flaming mess!” He hears James order him. “It’s better to appreciate it from the outside rather than the in.”

Scooping the woman up, he replies, “I like this view though, so many things in so many shades of fire.”

He carries her out of the ruins of the train, still fueling the fires because he is making damned sure all of them and it is destroyed. Once outside the train, he sets her on the ground as James walks over. His attention is still on the inferno however, and now that he doesn’t need his winds as a protective agent, he adds them to the mix.

He grins widely when everything implodes.

“Damnit Alec, a little warning,” James grumbles before asking the woman, “Are you all right Natalya?”

“What’s going on?” she demands angrily.

He doesn’t pay any attention to that mess, let James deal with it. Instead, once he is sure all of them are dead, including the few that tried to escape and he used his winds to catch on fire, he pulls the phone out of his pocket and calls Dayesi with an update.

oOoOoOo

Mason’s POV

He doesn’t leave the computer often as the events unfold. When the train explodes, he grins almost manically because that means the general, the bitch’s father, is dead. That also means she’s the only one left. He’s already screwed up every GoldenEye computer, erasing the programming and setting up time delay destruction. The second satellite is going to explode at exactly midnight their time. Perhaps that wasn’t very nice of him, after all, most of them will not be near a computer when it is time for self destruction, but he doesn’t care. Not about this.

Again he is reminded that his mum wouldn’t have approved.

Great Goddess, please bless this endeavors, please balance the books between my retribution and their crimes. He thinks, lips moving without sound in silent prayer.  

He’s startled that he closed his eyes, but knows it was out of habit, so his focus would be in one place only. He hasn’t prayed in a long while, the last time he prayed, the memories had started, and he considered it Her way of telling him things would get better.

The computer chimes at him, and his focus immediately shifts to it.

-Ourumov is dead- A

His shark grin softens into a smile. Even though Alec didn’t have to update him, the elemental had. He should probably start shutting things down, but he isn’t ready to lose his connection to the others. It’s almost like having a family again.

Shaking his head, he goes back to doing research and screwing with the people working on the second GoldenEye project. He’s having fun with it. It’s been a long time since he’s had this much fun.

He’s not sure how much time passes before he hears the door open. The sounds of voices float towards him as he starts shutting everything down. While he would have liked to see those assholes die in person, he’s perfectly fine with the fact he only got to listen to it. Matrona isn’t dead yet as far as he knows but he has complete faith in Alec that she’ll be dead before they leave this damned place.

“Mason?” Alec’s voice cuts through the distraction  of his thoughts.

Standing up, he leaves the small office to find himself face to face with a small group of people and he only recognizes two of them from in person. He’s almost self conscious of the fact he has the heavy robe on over the clothes he’s wearing because he’s having a hard time staying warm. Warily, he glances between them, assigning names based on descriptions and the pictures he has seen.

James is the dark haired man next to Alec. Even if he hadn’t seen a picture, the eyes give away the non-human nature blue like sapphires, pupils that are both there and not. There is something about him, a stillness that he’s never seen in a human. The woman must be Natalya, the computer programmer who survived the first GoldenEye situation. Bogdan is standing behind Alec damned near glaring at James, which startles him.

“Care to come with me to blow the last place up?” Alec queries with an almost playful smirk.

He nods, going back in the little office to take the robe off. “Oh yes.”

“Bit bloodthirsty are we?“ James asks with a curious glance between him and Alec.

“Yes,” he hisses in answer, looking forward to that bitch being dead.

“You’re welcome to stay here if you’d like,” Alec offers, glancing between James and the woman.

“Hell no, you don’t get to explode things on your own.” James retorts with a sharp shake of his head, reminding him of someone he knew in the past but not his past.

Shaking his head, he glances between the two spies, watching the byplay and easy way they have an entire conversation based on expression. It’s rather intriguing and almost feels intimate to him.

“Bogdan, make sure that Natalya here gets something to eat or drink, we’ll be back,” Alec announces, offering him a hand and enveloping him in very welcome warmth.

He smiles as he accepts the hand.

oOoOoOo

James’ POV

He’s rather thankful that Natalya doesn’t freak out too badly when Alec destroys the train rather thoroughly. That would have been a bit of a headache.

He starts snickering when a humvee pulls up beside them and a taller man gets out, stating, “Really boss? That can be seen for kilometers.”

Alec just smirks.

The four of them get in the car, with Bogdan getting behind the wheel and taking off without saying anything else. The trip back to the city is both longer and shorter than expected, ending with them at a rather modest house, at least by his standards.

“Come in,” Alec tells them as he heads towards the door without actually waiting for them to listen.

“This is a bit small for you,” he remarks teasingly.

Snickering, his love replies, “It’s been very handy since it’s not well known of.”

“Good reasoning,” he agrees, then queries, “Why are we here?” while looking around.

“I’ve a promise to keep,” Alec replies, ignoring the way Natalya is looking around. “Mason?”

A dark haired young man with changing eyes emerges from one of the rooms wearing what he’s sure is Alec’s robe because it’s definitely too big for this teen’s scrawny frame. There is intelligence in those gray green eyes and an inner fire he recognizes from any time he looks in the mirror. The youth doesn’t distract from the fact this man knows what hell is like and how to survive. He’s rather startled that Mason is so young, he was expecting someone closer to thirty, not under twenty.

“Care to come with me to blow the last place up?” his love and partner asks the teen.

Gray eyes narrow with a viciousness he’s well acquainted with as the teen nods, slipping back into the other room just long enough to take the robe off before coming back out. “Oh yes,” it’s a low hiss and a promise of vengeance.

“A bit bloodthirsty are we,” he remarks, amused because he knows that feeling well.

“Yes,” the teen agrees with a single sharp nod.

Bogdan gets left at the house with Natalya while the three of them head outside and end up in a rather sleek car from the garage. Mason’s eyes dance over it curiously, and he gets the feeling the dark haired teen is mentally taking it apart. This trip is even faster because Alec drives the same way he does, with a sort of speed that would make humans dizzy. A bit later they are stopping in front of a mansion and a rather lovely black woman comes over.

They have just got out of the car when she starts speaking. “The whole lot of them are in there, it’s been rather dull how in there they are. I even checked for secret ways in and out, destroying them wherever possible but none of them tried escaping.” She announces, sounding almost put out.

“Thank you,” Alec replies as the elemental turns towards the building.

He’s surprised when the teen walks up to the wall and uses a pen to draw on the edge of the gate frame before stepping back to study it a moment. Stepping closer a few adjustments are made to the adjust before Mason steps back again, this time with a satisfied smirk.

A tall woman who looks a lot like the general exits the mansion with henchmen and coming in their direction.

He snorts when the teen flips them off before walking back over to stand beside Alec

“They’re not going to be able to open that gate are they?” Alec asks, voice laced with amusement.

“No, and they won’t be able to leave the property through any other means until the seal is broke.” Mason answers firmly, eyes burning in fury, “She made sure never to let me near writing utensils.”

Laughing, his love nods, a moment later the air starts to heat up as a small ball of flame appears.

Mason says nothing as it gets hotter and hotter before the ball of flame shoots over the top of the wall and into the house.

He watches in interest as Alec makes the entire place goes from perfectly fine to a furious inferno.

The woman on the other side of the wall starts screaming, though he doesn’t know what she’s saying because he’s not using his sharper hearing and Alec has the winds encircling the mansion.

A second ball of flame appears and just sort of hovers, “Mason?” the word is a very loaded question.

The teen shakes his head, drawing small sigils  on his palms.

The fireball shoots off, slamming into the woman and encasing her in flames.

The look of satisfaction on Mason’s face tells him everything.

“Ready?” Alec queries, glancing between them.

“Yes,” he answers with a nod, feeling like he just entered a situation without knowing the entire background.

“Mmmmhmm,” Mason agrees with a nod and one last look at the now dead woman, “Thank you.”

“Then let’s get our things together and leave,” Alec states as he slips back into his seat.

Leave, that’d be nice, go home and enjoy being together again. Maybe keep this teen with them, if Mason would be agreeable. 


	22. Epilogue

Mason’s POV

It ended up being Alec, James, Natalya and him who leave Russia together the following day. Dayesi and Raskova are planning on joining them in a week, and he doesn’t know what’s going on with Bogdan. Personally he almost wants the man to stay here just because he was annoying, at the same time, he gets that the other man was one of the few people the elemental could trust.

James pays most of his attention to Natalya, for which he is currently thankful as he tries figuring out what he is doing and doesn’t want to be focusing on the katane.

Does he want to part ways with Alec and James when he gets to London? No. As much as he tries, he can’t remember where the safety box is that contain the journals or even where his parents flat is. So for now it’d be best if he stayed with someone he can trust.

Does he trust Alec? Yes. It surprises him because they haven’t known each other that long, but he feels like he has known the elemental for years. There is something familiar, a feeling of home, that he gets from the sardonyx blonde spy.

Now the only question is whether Alec wants him to stay or not. It was implied that he did, but that was when they were in a shitty situation, it could totally be different now. He’ll know soon enough. In the meantime, he’s just going to relax and enjoy the ride. His life is already better. The bitch and the rest of them are dead. He’s safe. There’s not much more else he can ask for.

oOoOoOo

Alec’s POV

He’s happy to be leaving Russia, and he’s relieved that his trio of friends will be joining them in London. The ladies next week, Bogdan at Christmas. He’s already discussed with James keeping Mason with them if the teen doesn’t have somewhere else to go. He’s grown rather fond of the feisty hacker of the last week, and James finds him intriguing.

He’s sure the three of them will make quite the team together. He’s equally sure that when Mason comes into his own about being secure, that the hacker will be a very dangerous person to piss off. A perfect compliment to them. Now he just needs to ask the teen if he’d like to stay, but he can do that when they touch down in London and the woman goes away.

oOoOoOo

James’ POV

He’s got his Alec back and apparently has a new interest as well in Mason.

There’s fire in the teenager, the same sort of fire they share. Not one that a normal human will ever understand. It feels right having the three of them together in ways he’s never felt before. When he first met Alec he felt like he had found a missing piece but not quite right. Now he feels like all the pieces are slotted together. His mother used to tell him of soulmates, but he always thought they were legends. Yet from everything he’s feeling right now, maybe they aren’t as much of a legend as he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look, _The End!_ It's been quite a ride from start to Finish. Sometime in the relatively near future I plan to start on the full story in this series: Alec, Mason  & James learning to live together and adjusting. 
> 
> I hope everyone enjoyed, for updates on the verse don't forget to follow it.

**Author's Note:**

> Publishing schedule, I will update one or two stories on Saturday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
> 
> Tumblr about my writing [JaimiStoryTeller](http://jaimistoryteller.tumblr.com/money) and I can be found on Twitter @jaimist0
> 
> I love reviews, comments, and any other sort of communication, feel free to stop in to say hi

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Winter Explosions](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10677177) by [Zephyrfox](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zephyrfox/pseuds/Zephyrfox)




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